UTM kicked off its second annual Diversity Week with a play that had a huge impact not only on the African-American community, but on people of all ethnicities.

The hypothetical meeting between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X staged during “The Meeting,” a play that presents such a meeting. In “The Meeting,” the two men’s’ encounter becomes a historic moment that changed the way the two men felt about each other and their views on society. Malcolm X and King were gunned down just three years apart.

Director of Multicultural Affairs, Teresa Woody, along with SGA president, James Orr opened the night by thanking everyone for coming out and by emphasizing how important diversity is on campus.

The play opened with Malcolm X having a conversation with his bodyguard. The bodyguard felt a little uneasy about Dr. King coming for this highly anticipated visit. In between talking to his bodyguard, Malcolm calls his wife and she tells him that their house had been bombed earlier that morning. Soon after that Dr. King arrives and Malcolm’s bodyguard does not exactly welcome him with open arms. Malcolm and Dr. King begin to get down to the business of reforming American society and eradicating what they saw was blatant injustice against ethic minorities in the 1960s.

Both men stuck to their guns about their beliefs and the Civil Rights Movement. At first their conversation was very civil and cordial, but soon tempers began to flare.

The two men even arm-wrestled each other to see who indeed was the strongest. The first time Malcolm won, the second Dr. King won, and the last time they called a truce.

Just as Dr. King was leaving he presented a gift to Malcolm. Inside of a brown paper bag was a baby doll from King’s daughter. King’s daughter saw that Malcolm’s house had been bombed and she wanted to give Malcolm’s daughter something to play with. The two men then stepped out onto the terrace and decided to agree to disagree. The play ended with Dr. King leaving and Malcolm following in behind him. After the two men left, Malcolm’s bodyguard called someone and informed them to do whatever they had to do. The audience gave the actors a thunderous standing ovation after the play ended.

“The Meeting” was staged by the Pin Points Theatre Company, and was written by Jeff Stetson. The play won the Louis B. Mayer Award and eight theater awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

A question-and-answer session was held after the performance.

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