Bridgewater College and the Town of Bridgewater will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 15, at Oakdale Park in Bridgewater at 11 a.m.
The “Celebrating the Dream, Continuing the Journey” event celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The event kicks off with remarks from Bridgewater College President David Bushman, Bridgewater College Resident Advisor Jasmine Jones ’24 and Bridgewater Town Mayor Ted Flory.
A march of event attendees from the park to Bridgewater College’s campus will follow.
A shuttle will be available for those who would like to participate in the march but are unable to walk the entire route because of limited mobility. Those wishing to use the shuttle service should meet at the Kline Campus Center lot on Bridgewater College’s campus by 10:30 a.m.
At the conclusion of the march, guests are invited to enjoy a reception in the Boitnott Room, located in Rebecca Hall on the College’s campus.
“The Town of Bridgewater is pleased and honored to partner once again with Bridgewater College in observance of the annual holiday in memory and celebration of the life and services of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His leadership, mission and ministry live on, and he continues to impact our lives positively to this day,” said Mayor of the Town of Bridgewater Ted Flory.
Other events
‘Hidden Figures’ screening
On Monday, Jan. 15, Bridgewater College will show the 2016 film Hidden Figures—based on Shetterly’s book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race at 7 p.m. in Cole Hall.
Endowed lecture with Margot Lee Shetterly
As part of Bridgewater College’s observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an endowed lecture will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Cole Hall.
Writer, researcher and entrepreneur Margot Lee Shetterly will deliver the keynote address, “The Importance of Representation and Racial Progress.”
A book signing will follow.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the event will also be livestreamed at bridgewater.edu/shetterly
Teach-in with Dr. Vanessa Rouillon
In continued celebration of Dr. King’s legacy, Assistant Professor of English Dr. Vanessa Rouillon will lead a teach-in on campus on Monday, Jan. 22.
The teach-in session, which will be held at 7 p.m. in room 217 in the John Kenny Forrer Learning Commons, will be on “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: On Civil Disobedience, America’s Christian Heritage and the Art of Rhetoric.”
King led a series of marches, sit-ins, boycotts and other demonstrations against African American segregation in early April of 1963. Choosing to disobey a city prohibition against such protests, King was arrested on April 12, 1963. During his nine-day incarceration, he wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Along with reading passages from primary texts, Rouillon will discuss King’s rhetorical eloquence, his attention to ethos, audience and kairos, the dignity of his mugshot and jail photos in advancing the cause, and his moral and religious reasonings.
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Crystal Graham
