 "Photo: Photo / Amber Noack")
Martin Luther King, Jr.: a monumental figure for civil rights and equality. No one man has ever had a more profound effect on American society than Dr. King Jr. Every year, in his honor, the City of Modesto, Modesto Junior College and community groups invite someone who has had an impact on society to address the legacy and relevance of Dr. King today. This year, on Jan. 22, former Mayor of San Francisco and Speaker of the California State Assembly, Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. took to the podium at the MJC Auditorium.
“The dream of Dr. King will forever live on; his dream is an ongoing journey and King believed in the importance of individuals having an impact on us all,” Brown said.
Now retired from politics, Brown had a long standing career in California politics and is widely regarded as one of the most influential African American politicians of the late 20th century. Brown’s political era lasted four decades, from the time Lyndon Johnson was president all the way to the presidency of George W. Bush. Brown has worked with every California governor from Pat Brown to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Among his other accomplishments are the refurbishing and reconstruction of the nation’s busiest transit system (MUNI, in the San Francisco Bay Area), the creation of a model juvenile justice system and his promotion of a new campus at the University of San Francisco to become a center for biotechnology. Now, Brown spends his days as the head of Willie L. Brown, Jr., Institute on Politics and Public Service, sharing his knowledge with today’s youth; he also writes a column for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Master of Ceremonies Rubén Villalobos, a local attorney who is a newly-elected Trustee for Modesto City School Board, opened the event. MJC Interim President Dr. Kenneth White and Dave Lopez, Vice-Mayor of Modesto, offered a few introductory comments. Musical solo artist René Patterson sang “Never Would Have Made It,” after which Wendy Bird, MJC Director of Student Development and Campus Life, handed out the 2nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award to Tommie Muhammad, for his positive impact on the local community in the area of human services. High school spoken word poet Rosa Stanley performed her poem, “Black Silhouettes,” concluding with a video tribute by Wes Page for Dr. King and Willie Brown.
Taking the stage after the video, Brown commented, “The man who put that video together must have connections with the Chronicle, for I have taken good and bad pictures but tonight you have seen most of both,” eliciting laughter.
Brown titled his speech, “How Martin Helped Shape My Life.” He recounted King’s experiences as a civil rights activist from the Montgomery Bus Boycott all the way up to King’s assassination on April 4, 1968. He noted that Dr. King did not ask for nor intend to pursue the spotlight as the icon of America’s civil rights movement. If anything, he was chosen by the activist community to undertake risky protest actions because he was a relatively young and unknown preacher.
“Martin originally wanted to be a clothes salesman by the name of Tweed...the name stuck with him,” Brown said.
Brown exhibited an apparent sense of humor, especially in regards to himself. Commenting that he never planned to be a newspaper writer until the Chronicle offered him a generous sum to write a weekly column, he jested, “I realized how persuasive dead presidents can be.”
He discussed how during King’s era television was the main media and one could not gain attention unless covered by one of the major networks.
“Martin didn’t have the use of Twitter and Facebook back then… he would have mastered all these new devices -- and wouldn’t have called one ‘Blackberry’.”
Brown spoke with a stern clarity that showed his experience in the political world which he coupled with animated hand gestures and feeling for the topic. He imagined what the man would have done if he were still alive today; labor union reform was one of many things King could have had an impact on, Brown said.
Brown also described the trajectory of his own career. After graduating from the University of California Hastings School of Law in 1958, he intended to be a clerk for a judge but, before he could get on the payroll the judge died. So Brown started his political career, mainly to advertise his own law firm. The rest is history. Brown was the first African American to be elected Mayor of San Francisco; he served two terms as mayor from 1996 to 2004, as well as 15 years as Speaker of the California State Assembly. He mentored Gavin Newsom (the current mayor of San Francisco) and works with Governor Schwarzenegger on a regular basis. Brown officially retired in 2004 said he has enjoyed his retirement thus far. Asked whether he had any plans to run for any other office, he said, “If I live to 150, then I will run for Governor,” he said. Born in Mineola, Texas in 1934, he said that his inspiration for all his success in life came from his mother.
During the Q and A (questions and answers), someone asked what Brown thought of the job President Obama has done so far.
“If my students didn’t finish a certain amount of assignments I gave them an incomplete,” Brown replied. “That is what Obama has. However, he has time to improve.”
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