Leonard Tshitenge, an American Congolese poet and activist, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, in Cole Hall, as part of Bridgewater College’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance.
The observance begins with a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial candlelight walk around the campus mall at 6:45 p.m., beginning and ending at the entrance to Cole Hall.
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshitenge uses poetry to advocate for underprivileged continental Africans and for the people in Eastern Congo affected by the country’s wars.
Through his poetry, Tshitenge promotes conflict-free electronic products, transparency, democracy and human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He also promotes social issues in the Boston area where he lives, and established Consciously Exposed Café, a monthly community forum for the African American community and the African Diaspora community.
Tshitenge has been nominated as Poet of the Year by the International Society of Poets in Florida and received the Editor’s Choice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry presented by the International Library of Poetry of Orlando, Fla.
Tshitenge will also participate in Bridgewater College’s International Poetry Festival Jan. 12 – 15. For more information, contact Dr. Stanley A. Galloway, professor of English at Bridgewater College and founder and organizer of the festival, at 540-828-5339 or [email protected].
All of the MLK observance events and the poetry festival are free and open to the public.
Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to nearly 1,900 undergraduate students.
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