“I quit school 3 hours away from graduation. I didn’t want to be validated by a white college,” said Dick Gregory in his speech’s opening .
Gregory addressed issues plaguing the black community with his cutting-edge comedy Wednesday night in Lee Hall auditorium. He was concerned with blacks being controlled by the racist society.
The activist, philosopher, comedian, author, nutritionist and actor also talked about education, identity and how blacks are portrayed in the media.
The Office of Student Activities said they were privileged to have Gregory come and share his outlook with students.
“I think this has been a great week for FAMU students to have Cornel West and Dick Gregory for eight days,” said Mickey Clayton, director of OSUA. “They brought a very diverse view.
“We knew Gregory was a political activist and humorist, and his views would go well with students who came to see him,” he said.
The views that lingered in many of the students minds was Gregory’s insight on the AIDS virus and Hurricane Katrina.
“It’s a game. It’s a game that they play with us…look up Robert Gallo. This man was so cocky that he admitted to creating the AIDS virus,” Gregory said.
Gregory told students they could go to the United States Patent and Trade Office website and type in the patent number “4647773” to see how the disease was created by Gallo and the government.
He also discussed how the government tried to hide how Hurricane Katrina was not strong enough to cause flooding in New Orleans because it was a Category 3 storm.
He said that events the night before the storm hit caused the levees to break causing the city to flood.
Gregory even said the mayor of New Orleans was scared the CIA would try to kill him.
However, some students were not shocked by the information.
“I’ve known the stuff he’s said for a long time and it felt good,” said Mike Moore, 25, a graduate business administration student from New Orleans.
“He had a lot of pertinent information like recognizing that our generation has to deal with the mess left from the last generation.
“I appreciate him saying something a lot of his peers would not say, and I wish more professors spoke the truth like him,” he said.
But some students question whether Gregory wanted students to follow his truth instead of the government’s truth.
“The highlight of Gregory’s speech was his propaganda about the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the AIDS epidemic,” said Omari Murphy, 21, from New Orleans.
Murphy said that students should find a middle ground for who they believe when it comes to trusting the government and believing other people.
When it comes to beauty and black people not being satisfied with their appearance the activist had a lot to say.
“God determined your color, God determined your nappy hair and your wide nose and when you go against that… you go against God,” Murphy said.
He also talked about how black women allow black men to treat them.
“The black man is the only man that degrades his black woman in music and you all continue to dance to it.
“Men in Russia (where there aren’t any black women) see the videos and think that every black woman is the same.
If you think shaking your booty will make you money…try shaking it in front of an ATM,” Murphy said.
Gregory also said that black universities should be embarrassed that the white schools are taking our best black athletes.
Although he touched on topics from government conspiracy to black beauty he wanted to leave the students with a special message.
“Take care of your body and learn to smile and wave at your brother and sister on campus even if they don’t do it back,” he said.
Many students listened and said they learned something they might not have been able to get anywhere else on campus.
“I enjoyed it a lot. I left knowing a lot more than I did. He said some insightful things that I’m researching now,” said David Smith, 20, a junior from Sanford.
Gregory plans to write two books about how the CIA blew p the World Trade Center and a diet book in the near future.