Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Jesse DeFlorio Actor, director and writer Spike Lee discussed the importance of doing what you love at this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation Address.

Last Wednesday, Loyola's Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation posed a fairly simple question for the evening: What's on Spike Lee's Mind? And when the celebrated director, actor, and writer took the stage, it was immediately apparent that there is no shortage of thoughts in capacity of Spike Lee.

After an introduction from Tim Snyder, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Lee began to casually converse with the audience. Though his overall comments ranged from how you reconcile years of slavery to why the US dominates the world because of our culture, Lee started by reminding us of one significant event that happened exactly a year ago.

"One year ago today, I was freezing my a-- off going to all these balls," Lee said with a laugh, engaging the audience by sharing his own memories of President Obama's inauguration. But quickly switching to a more serious tone, Lee also discussed how the euphoria surrounding inauguration of our first African American president has seemed to die down since last January.

In the mind of Spike Lee, this is exactly why it is important to look back on history and remember things in context. Martin Luther King Jr.'s time on earth, for example, is something Lee believes we need to re-visit and examine again.

"It is important for the young minds in the audience that you really have to get to know who Dr. King is. The rest is just surface," Lee told an attentive crowd.

Lee associated his memories of King with specific events in his childhood, and shared an emotional story that occurred on the day of King's assassination. He recalled sitting on his stoop when he heard a "crazy woman screaming." As the voice got closer, he recognized his mother's frantic voice screaming, "They killed him! They killed him! They killed Dr. King!"

Lee's lecture then took us back to his childhood and the events that led him to where he is today, explaining that he didn't always want to go into filmmaking. In fact, his first attempt at the craft occurred solely out of boredom.

In the summer of 1977, Lee found himself in New York City without a job. This particular summer became one of the hottest known, causing a city-wide blackout. So, simply because he had nothing else to do, Lee picked up a camera and began to document the event. Later, Lee was encouraged to tell stories through his footage. And it was this same encouragement that Lee still feels strongly about today.

Continued...

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