Arts & Life

Dakota Midday: Comparing Martin Luther King and Malcom X Speeches

SDPB Radio | By Karl Gehrke

Published February 5, 2015 at 2:40 PM CST

On August 28^th, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream Speech” to over 250 thousand civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington. Nearly a year later, in April, Malcom X delivered his “Ballot or the Bullet” speech at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

Black Hills State University speech professor Adam Gaffey has studied both speeches and says that they reveal details one wouldn’t necessarily notice when looking at the addresses separately. “One of the reasons I like to put King and Malcolm X together is that we tend to summarize the Civil Rights Movement into one thing, rather than seeing the movement as a longer dialogue and debate amongst leaders who didn’t always see eye-to-eye,” Gaffey said.

Gaffey discusses “The Rhetoric of Equality: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, and Arguments on Civil Rights” Thursday afternoon as a part of the BHSU Geek Speak lecture series. He joined Dakota Midday and talked about the two speeches and their context within the Civil Rights Movement.

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Karl Gehrke

Karl was born to northeastern South Dakota crouton farmers, but was orphaned as a toddler during the Great Salad War (1966-67). Rescued by a flock of chickadees, he grew up in the woodlands of Sica Hollow. Legends of a bird boy living in the trees attracted the interest of renowned ornithologist and amateur bandoneon repairman Dr. Vogel Gehrke. With a handful of suet, Dr. Gehrke coaxed the timid boy down from the trees. He adopted him, named him Karl and taught him not to molt on the carpet. Dr. Gehrke’s book, The Bird Boy of Sica Hollow, was a best seller and Karl became a minor celebrity and teen idol. He appeared as a guest star on numerous television programs, most notably an awkward role on The Love Boat as the boyfriend of Captain Stubing’s daughter, Vicki. After critics panned his 1980 album, Bird Boy Does Disco, Karl retreated from public life and returned to Sica Hollow. Living in an isolated tree house, Karl achieved a reputation as a mystic. Pilgrims and seekers from around the world came to ask him about the meaning of life and for vinaigrette recipes. Growing tired of answering questions, he climbed down from his tree, shaved his massive white beard and took a job as the host of SDPB Radio’s Dakota Midday where he could ask the questions instead. After three years in that position, he ran out of questions and became host of Jazz Nightly instead. Karl makes his home in Vermillion with his charming wife Kari and three delightful children, Kodey, Kasey and Spatula. His hobbies include reciting the alphabet, combing his hair and doing volunteer work with delinquent songbirds.

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