The attendants of the "Beyond Black and White" forum honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Saturday, but they know the fight for civil liberties for all Americans is far from over.
"America is not where it needs to be," said Illinois State University student Tanya Burnette.
"I think it is going to take time. People still haven't come together yet," she said.
The forum, hosted by the non-profit organization Hands on Memphis, brought nearly 100 participants together at the Fogelman Executive Center to discuss racial profiling, freedom of speech limitations and an individual's right to privacy.
The "Beyond Black and White" forum was part of the 5th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Summit on Service. Some of the forum participants attended the second half of the summit on Monday to do community service work at the National Civil Rights Museum.
Alex Thomas, one of the forum's committee members, said civil rights will always be an issue our country has to deal with.
"As our nation continues to become more diverse, it will be important to our continuation of democracy," Thomas said.
Participants were given ballot cards and asked to vote on the most controversial topics that have led to discrimination in the 21st century.
Some found it difficult to circle yes or no to questions like "Is profiling on the basis of appearance ever acceptable?"
Michael Rahija, sophomore business economics major, said he understood why forum participants may have found it hard to answer.
"I have mixed feelings about it (racial profiling)," Rahija said."Things that you can draw from racial profiling should be considered, but its uses should be limited," he said.
Through a series of video clips, the audience saw how discrimination of African-Americans still continued today but had extended to affect other minority groups such as Jews and Arab-Americans.
"We want people to ask if this is okay," said Sara Beth Larson, event coordinator for Hands on Memphis.
"You can't just sit by and say I don't know," she said.
Alicia Golston, Black History Month Chairperson of the Black Students Association (BSA), believes because the community within The University of Memphis is so diverse, that there is a need for stereotypes and prejudices to be addressed on campus.
"It is important to have these types of programs because they are to make people aware of the differences," she said.
Speakers,like Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton, encouraged participants to be servants to their communities in honor of Dr. King.
"Don't be a walk behinder, be a new note finder," said Wharton. Wharton suggested that the present generation may need to find different ways to continue the fight for civil rights.
