Northern to host guest speaker to present different perspective for MLK day

Montana State University-Northern will host guest speaker Ken Robinson at Cowan Hall Tuesday to talk about the civil rights movement in Montana.

Northern Multicultural Center Director Cristina Estrada-Underwood said while the talk will be inspired by the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, it will not just be strictly about his life. She added that the talk will focus primarily on what was happening in Montana during the Civil Rights movement.

“It’s always MLK which is OK, but I feel like this can be learned from different angles,” she added. “From the historical angle, from the psychological standpoint, from the legacy you know. How this impacts other races and other ethnicities. That was his legacy.”

Robinson is an author and historian who was born in Montana and graduated from the University of Montana. He served 30 years in the Naval Intelligence office and retired as a captain in the U.S. Navy. In 2010 he was honored by the Montana Historical Society for his work on African American history in Montana.

Estrada-Underwood said that even though Montana doesn’t have a large African American population, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything interesting to be learned from that time period.

The talk will focus on the racial environment in Great Falls from World War II until the 1960s and the role of the black jazz club, The Ozark Club, in breaking down racial barriers.

“I’m really interested to hear what this speaker has to say,” she added.

Last year, said Estrada-Underwood, Tobin Miller Shearer Ph.D. of the University of Montana came and gave a presentation on what people could learn today from MLK’s civil protests. Miller is the associate professor of history and director of African American Studies.

Estrada-Underwood said what she liked about that presentation is that Shearer talked about lesser known activists like Ruby Bridges.

When Estrada-Underwood was teaching at community college, she said, a student commented that MLK’s legacy didn’t have an impact on anyone outside the African American community.

“His legacy impacted everybody, you know. He brought a message of unity, of inclusion, of brotherhood,” she added. “He was really advocating for his people, but it impacted everybody.”

Estrada-Underwood said that Montana’s history during the civil rights era is something that often gets overlooked, locally and nationally, because it wasn’t at the forefront like many southern cities such as Birmingham, Montgomery or Selma.

She added that she hopes people will be able to take away something new about Montana during this era that they didn’t know before.

“I think a good way to learn about the city you’re living in, is to know its history,” she said.

Estrada-Underwood said they have another presentation lined up in February for Black History month. The presentation is called “Things My Hair Holds” and is about race and what hair means to African Americans. She added that the presentation will be presented virtually, meaning the presenter will be video conferencing with the audience.

The MLK day presentation is set for Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at Cowan Hall room 300. Refreshments will be provided and the public is invited to attend.