Mount St.
Mary's College and Seminary Celebrates the
Life of Martin Luther King Jr. in Weeklong
Celebration
"Vocations in Leadership" is the theme for
Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary's
weeklong celebration honoring the life and
legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The
celebration begins on Monday, January 19,
and concludes on Tuesday, January 27. All
events are free and open to the public.
Highlights of the week's events include an
Ecumenical Service and Gospel Concert that
will take place on Monday, January 19, at
7:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Immaculate
Conception. Deacon John Hawkins, from St.
Anthony Shrine Church and Our Lady of
Mount Carmel Church, will give the sermon.
The gospel concert will feature the Mount
Gospel Choir and the Jerusalem Baptist
Church Mass Choir.
On
Wednesday, January 21, Jeffrey Lamar
Coleman, from St. Mary's College of
Maryland will present "Pride & Protest:
Poetry of the American Civil Rights
Movement."Dr. Coleman will explore how the
Civil Rights Movement found expression in
the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice
Walker, Amiri Baraka, Michael S. Harper,
and others. He will also discuss the
impact of poetry on the movement. The
lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. in
the Faculty Lounge on the 3rd floor of the
Knott Academic Center.
The AJQ
Jazz Band will celebrate Dr.King through
music on Friday, January 23, at 6:00 p.m.
in Patriot Hall. AJQ's musical style
ranges from traditional to progressive
jazz, funk and 'R&B. Members of this
Washington, D.C. jazz quartet have
performed and shared the stage with
nationally known artists like Dizzy
Gillespie, Babbie Mason, Wynton Marsalis,
and Max Roach.
On
Tuesday, January 27, Dr. Judith Green,
professor of philosophy at Fordham
University, will present the keynote
address entitled "King's Civil Rights Act
Turns Forty: Leading the Beloved Community
in the Twenty-First Century." The lecture
will take place in the Knott Auditorium at
7:30 p.m. Dr. Green will assess the key
areas in which King's vision suggests that
America still needs democratic
transformation, combined with reflection
on the kinds of leadership that can
stimulate and guide real change. Dr. Green
will address the meaning and need for a
leadership for justice, including small
steps and life decisions that can help to
actualize "the beloved community" that
King believed America could become.
The
following Mount faculty lectures are also
planned throughout the week .
Tuesday,
January 20:
-
"Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Man and
the Dream"-Purcell Lounge, 7 p.m.
Facilitator: Dr. Kathleen Guidroz, Dept.
of Sociology Screening and discussion of
the short film "Martin Luther King, Jr.:
The Man & the Dream,": A remarkable
portrait of courage in the face of
hatred, of a man who forced change
through the strength of his indomitable
spirit and leadership.
Thursday,
January 22:
- "The
Organizer and the Orator: The
Contrasting Leadership Styles of Bob
Moses and Dr. King"-Knott Academic
Center, Room 230, 3:30 p.m. Presented by
Dr. Bill Heath, English Dept. This
presentation will contrast leadership
styles of these two Civil Rights
activists and will include Dr. Heath's
personal memories of the March on
Washington.
- "The
Power of the People in Grassroots
Organizing"- Knott Academic Center, Room
230, 4:15 p.m. Presented by Dr. Jessica
Wahman, Philosophy Dept. This
presentation will discuss organizing
practices developed by the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during
the Civil Rights Movement and explain
how these practices continue to effect
changes in Bob Moses' current Algebra
Project.
Friday,
January 23rd
- "The
Writing on the Wall Project: Bring Down
the Barrier of Discrimination and
Oppression" - Mount Café, 12 noon
Presented by Professor Elizabeth Holtry,
Visual & Performing Arts Dept, and LaDon
Roeder, project author. This
presentation offers participants an
opportunity to learn more about the
history of the Writing on the Wall
Project, and will explore how the Mount
community can get involved in a shared
experience of building and then breaking
down a wall that symbolizes the barriers
that prevent us as individuals, races,
genders and cultures from connecting in
our shared community.
Monday,
January 26th
- "How
Do Servant-Leaders Transform
Followers?"- Knott Academic Center, Room
230, 3:30 p.m. Presented by Dr. Charlie
Beitz, Business, Accounting & Economics
Dept. Leaders can shape, alter and
elevate motives, values, and goals of
followers through leading the minds,
hearts, and spirits of people. This
presentation will use Dr. King's "I have
a Dream" and "Letter from a Birmingham
Jail" as examples of his transforming
servant-leadership.
-
"Realizing the Dream: Social and
Environmental Transformation in a
Cynical Society"- Knott Academic Center,
Room 230, 4:15 p.m. Presented by Dr.
Brian Henning, Philosophy Department
Central to King's worldview and life was
the belief that ideals can and do
transform the world. In the spirit of
King's legacy and in contrast to the
pervasive cynicism of our own society,
this talk focuses on each individual's
responsibility to take into
consideration the social and
environmental consequences of his or her
life-choices.
Tuesday,
January 27
- "Jazz
and the Civil Rights Movement"- Knott
Academic Center, Room 230, 3:30 p.m.
Presented by Professor Barry Long,
Visual & Performing Arts Dept. A
multimedia look at the various ways in
which jazz musicians reflected the
growing call for change in civil rights
in America through their art and their
actions.
For more
information about any of these events,
please contact the office of
communications at (301) 447-5366.
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