He marched on Washington, D.C., and in Selma, Alabama. He worked on rent strikes in New York City and was attacked by a protester simply for being a person of color in Boston.
And Northeastern professor Ted Landsmark remains adamant that now is not a time to abandon the fight for social progress.
“Cultural change happens in cycles, and we can’t afford to sit back and be complacent when we have made certain progressive steps,” said Landsmark, distinguished professor of public policy and urban affairs at Northeastern and director of the university’s Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy. “We can never assume that those are going to be forever.”
Landsmark spoke Thursday during “A Tribute to the Dream: Voices of Past, Present and Future,” the university’s commemoration of the life, work and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Related: Ted Landsmark: portrait of a leader
The event, held on Northeastern’s Boston campus, featured reflections on King’s legacy and musical performances that were both personal and universal.
