Wake Forest Politics Professor Gives MLK Day Address

Wake Forest Politics Professor Gives W&L MLK Day Address

Melissa Harris-Perry discussed MLK, race relations, and the 2024 election.

(Dayo Abah (left) and Melissa Harris-Perry (right) sit onstage. | SOURCE: The W&L Spectator)

“He was a leader and a critically important media figure who understood how his use of the powerful tool that is the American media was critical for pushing forward the actual philosophical goals,” said Dr. Harris-Perry of MLK on January 20, 2025 at the Keller Theatre in W&L’s Lenfest Center.

Harris-Perry was first asked about the changing landscape of civil rights activism since MLK’s era, and lessons from that era that are relevant today. She stressed how MLK used personnel management to further his cause, especially through the media.

Even though Harris-Perry believes more progress needs to be made in terms of racial equality, she cautioned against seeing “the need for progress as meaning that no progress has been made.” She illustrated this view by claiming that modern Jim Crow manifests itself through contemporary mass incarceration, while clarifying that contemporary mass incarceration should not be combated the same way as Jim Crow was fought.

On this point of changes in racial equality, Harris-Perry acknowledged that “not everything is all better,” but “many critically important things have changed, and those changes came through struggle.” She encouraged the audience to find new tools and means to advance the cause of racial equality.

Dr. Harris-Perry is currently the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair of the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She has published books pertaining to the political discourse of African Americans and the experiences of African American women in the United States. Her presentation at W&L was moderated by W&L Journalism & Mass Communications Professor Dr. Dayo Abah.

Another question posed to Harris-Perry pertained to stereotypes of black women in America, a topic she wrote a book about, and if those stereotypes played a role in former Vice President Kamala Harris’ electoral defeat in 2024. Harris-Perry briefly covered the stereotypes, and then shifted the analysis to Harris specifically. She claimed that Harris, in trying to avoid stereotypes of black women, would often wear “an ill-fitting suit that made her look like the DA on Law and Order.”

Harris-Perry contrasted Harris’ stylistic choices with that of Michelle Obama, who, despite facing criticism about her exposed arms, embraced her own style and kept wearing clothes that showed her shoulders. Harris-Perry then discussed Harris’ laugh, claiming “her laugh that she does is a protective mechanism over and against angry, black women.”

When it came to addressing reasons why Harris lost, Harris-Perry claimed that the result for her “not winning the American presidency is over-explained,” adding that “literally every single aspect of her losing [the election] is unsurprising.” Harris-Perry gave some credit to President Trump, calling him “one of the most skilled campaigners in American history.”

However, Harris-Perry attempted to explain positives coming from Harris’ electoral and popular vote defeat, claiming that “the fact that she came as close as she did … is more of what needs to be explained” by asserting Harris was “running the board” by winning states such as California and New York.

The next segment of the presentation was audience questions. Harris-Perry was first asked for suggestions on how to spread the message of MLK in a polarized society.

She responded by discussing the need to spread MLK’s writing in educational settings and encouraging discourse over his work.

Another question posed to Dr. Harris-Perry was about the role of the university in encouraging people to take advantage of today’s political environment.

She responded with a multi-faceted argument that discussed the various roles of universities, such as being employers, institutes for job training, and landowners in their community. She argued that universities need to clearly define their purposes, and specifically argued against indoctrination, claiming “don’t try to indoctrinate nobody into nothing because you’ll fail, because that’s not what we do.”

One of Dr. Harris-Perry’s concluding points was about responding to times when one is belittled, whether it be by race, gender, or another factor. Dr. Harris-Perry was frank in her response, stating that people need “a little bit of gumption to make things better in the world.”

She referenced the bravery of MLK and the Civil Rights movement in taking abuse to provoke a response that would further their cause. She clarified that she did not justify taking abuse: “feel free to correct them,” she said, but “ask if that individual interaction is strategically the moment where your feelings are the most important thing, or if actually, by swallowing your feelings a little bit, you might be able to get it strategically to another place.”