Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Commemoration 2011
Schedule of Events
Events take place from Jan. 17 through Jan. 22, and include a candlelight vigil, keynote address, film, panel discussion, and performances. The event is sponsored by the Dean of Students Office and several departments and student organizations on the Ursinus campus.
The commemoration was created, in part, to reflect, discuss and plan ways to advance King’s vision. All events are free and open to the public without tickets or reservations.
Monday, Jan 17
Ecumenical Service. Noon, Bomberger Hall
Meditation Chapel located on the Lower Level.
Candlelight Vigil 6pm.
It will begin at Unity House, closing with a procession to the College’s Olin Plaza
Keynote Address: Can You Hear the Sound of the Drum, Rev. Dr. Nikitah Okembe-RA Imani 7:30pm Bomberger Hall
Dr. Martin Luther King in his own eulogy wrote that he was a “drum major for justice. What is the spiritual, cultural, and social significance of this moniker and how does it relate to how he wanted to be remembered?
Dr. Nikitah Okembe-RA Imani is an associate professor of sociology at James Madison University. He is a veteran of more than 18 years of activism in Black nationalist and Pan-Africanist movements. He has published a number of groundbreaking books including The Agony of Education: Black Students at a White University (Routledge 1996)
Tuesday, Jan 18th
Diversity Monologues
Lenfest Theater, The Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center 5pm
Come celebrate the creativity of Ursinus students as they perform monologues about their experiences of diversity and identity at Ursinus College.
The Diversity Monologues is a compilation of uncensored, open, and free monologues that are meant to share with the community how it feels to be different and to be themselves. The monologues are meant to foster a community ethos at Ursinus College that nurtures and appreciates diverse identities.
Wednesday, Jan 19
Panel Discussion: “Race and the Sciences”
Musser Auditorium, Pfahler Hall, 12 noon – 1pm
with Dr. Mark Ellison, Chemistry; Dr. Rebecca Kohn, Biology; and Dr. Lew Riley, Physics
Film: Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority (dir. Kimberlee Bassford, 2008)
Musser Auditorium, Pfahler Hall, 7pm
The film explores the life and career of Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of colorelected to Congress and co-author of Title IX, the landmark legislation that mandated gender equity in education and athletics. Petite in frame but a giant in vision and her quest for social justice, Mink tirelessly championed the rights of minorities, women, workers, the poor and disenfranchised throughout her more than 40 years of public service. As a Japanese-American woman, she parlayed experiences of racism and sexism into an unwavering commitment to civil rights, equal opportunity, education and peace. Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority reveals how this passionate woman broke through barriers, opened opportunities to women and minorities and engaged the political process to permanently alter the American social and cultural landscape.
Thursday, Jan 20
Freedom School
Olin Hall, 7pm-8pm
Classical Liberalism as the Foundation for Civil Rights
Join with Ursinus Faculty as they explore questions about the nature of freedom in Western societies over the last five centuries!” Dr. Susanna Throop, room 305; Dr. Paul Stern, room 108; Dr. Greg Weight, room 303, Prof. Rabia Harris, room 317
Friday, Jan 21
Lunch and Learn: Not for Profit
Bomberger Conference Room, Noon
Christian Rice leads a discussion of Martha C. Nussbaum’s Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities (Princeton University Press 2010). Nussbaum’s work is a passionate defense of the value of a Humanistic education at a time when we increasingly treat education as though its primary goal were to teach students to be economically productive rather than to think critically and become knowledgeable and empathetic citizens. Our nation is becoming more culturally diverse yet colleges and universities are cutting back on precisely the kind of programs that give students the capacity to be true democratic citizens of their countries and the world.
Saturday, Jan 22
The Substance of Our Soul, performance
Lenfest Theater, The Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center, 7pm
Ursinus students and alumni perform song, dance, music and oratory inspired by the work and life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Events sponsored by S.U.N., the Office of Multicultural Services, College Activities Board, Leadership Development & Student Activities, UCARE Dean of Students Office, Film Studies, and the UC Ambassador Program.
To DaVinci, From Imhotep 