Best-selling author speaks at Martin Luther King Jr. lecture

Hill Harper is a best-selling author, but he can still remember one of the first letters he received in response to his works.

It was written by a 16-year-old black male, Brian, who was in prison. Harper said one of the first things that stuck out to him about the letter was that it was written at a 4th grade level.

“Did Brian fail us or did we fail Brian in terms of under-educating him?” said Harper.

Harper was the keynote speaker for the 33rd Annual UNC Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture, which was held in Memorial Hall and drew a crowd of almost 1,000 people.

Harper is an African-American actor best-known for his role on CSI: New York — he also graduated from Harvard Law School and Brown University .

Harper said he believes Dr. King would be a leader in the fight against the incarceration and under-education of students of color.

He said there is a distinct link between poverty, lower education and what he considers a deplorable criminal justice system.

This year’s theme was “Unifying the Dream through Thought and Action,” and Harper gave the example of how people who had reached a certain level of privilege can help others achieve their goals.

“We are all tied together with a single garment of mutual destiny,” he said, quoting Martin Luther King Jr.

The keynote lecture included the presentation of the 2014 MLK Scholarships. The recipients were juniors Sangeetha Kumar, Layla Quran and Emilio Vicente. Vicente walked away with the night’s top award and the most scholarship money.

Of the many accomplishments in his career, Harper was introduced to the crowd last night by his most recent accolade.

“This year, People Magazine named him one of the sexiest men alive,” said Carly Mathews , the president of the Carolina Union Activities Board which helped sponsor the event.

UNC Martin Luther King Committee Co-Chair Aubree Broadwater said getting Harper as a speaker cost around $20,000 and the event as a whole cost around $30,000.

The event was funded by individual donors and contributions from different student organizations.

“We started last March and (worked) all the way up until the day before the event.” Broadwater said.

Harper said he grew up in the Carolinas and was glad to be back, although he said this was his first time in Chapel Hill.

“I feel very much at home coming back to the Carolinas,” he said.

Harper said that over the past 50 years, America’s public opinion of Dr. King has changed dramatically.

“In many ways we have come to know Dr. King in a beautiful way but a somewhat revisionist way,” he said.

Harper said people today have a universally favorable opinion of Dr. King, but 50 years ago he was hated by the majority. Dr. King made people uncomfortable because he was challenging them, he said.

Harper also spoke about fear, which he said is a recurring theme in his books. He said he uses an acronym to define it: “False Evidence Appearing Real.”

“The way we solve problems could be innovative but we are stopped by fear. It is imperative that you move through your fear,” said Harper.

North Carolina Central University sophomore Bryana Richardson said she came to the event with a professional organization for minority students. She hoped Harper’s message gave motivation to people to do something.

“It was very liberating, informative, and inspirational.”

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