MLK Message: Kindness is Key: PBCC Students Get Counsel at Remembrance
By Scott Travis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Jan. 12–Determination and hard work may be keys to achieving your dreams, but famed trial lawyer Willie Gary espouses another important trait: kindness.
In a speech honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr., Gary spoke about overcoming poverty and racial discrimination to become a multimillionaire.
Gary, 59, grew up as a migrant worker in rural Indiantown and never forgot those who treated him with respect and those who didn’t.
“Don’t ever look down on anybody,” he told students at Palm Beach Community College. “You can face those people again on your way down, and you may need them. Be nice to each other. That’s what Dr. King was all about.”
Gary gave the keynote address at the eighth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast at PBCC. The audience included hundreds of students, faculty and community members. It was one of the first of a number of King celebrations that will be held in Palm Beach County over the next few days.
Gary spoke about one of his first jobs, washing dishes at the old Pelican Hotel, which was on the banks of the St. Lucie River in Stuart. He remembers working with two white men, a groundskeeper named Bill “who treated me like I was somebody” and a dock supervisor named John who used racial slurs in his presence.
After high school, Gary went to Shaw University and then to North Carolina Central law school. He returned to Stuart, where he opened a successful law practice. In the 1980s, when the Pelican Hotel was for sale, he bought it.
Bill and John still worked there. Gary promoted Bill, the nice groundskeeper, to dock supervisor. He fired John, who had uttered the racial slurs.
“Be careful, because what goes around comes around,” he repeatedly told the audience.
Gary’s law office now sits on the site of the former hotel, and he employs 250 people. He has won some of the largest jury settlements ever, including a $500 million verdict against a Canadian funeral home company and a $240 million judgment against Disney. Forbes has listed him as one of the top 50 attorneys in the United States, and Ebony has named him one of the “100 Most Influential Black Americans.”
“Don’t let anybody outwork you. There are no free rides,” he told the students. ” If you’re willing to burn the midnight oil, pay the price and refuse to be denied, you can do anything you want.”
The speech impressed PBCC sophomore Keshia Winder, 19, of Palm Springs.
“It’s an inspiring story for all of us who are struggling,” said Winder, who is student government vice president. “He can really make you feel like he’s talking to you.”
Scott Travis can be reached at stravis@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6637.
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Copyright (c) 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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