Shenandoah University is celebrating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with a weeklong slate of events meant to explore resistance and activism throughout history.
Martin Luther King Jr. Week at Shenandoah occurs Monday, Jan. 20, through Friday, Jan. 24, both on campus and around Winchester. Events are free and open to the public. Registration may be required for certain events.
“We organized this week around the theme ‘Resistance, Resilience and Activism’ and the question, ‘How has Dr. King inspired you?’” said Associate Provost Amy Sarch, Ph.D. “This is an important week to bring the campus and community together to honor Dr. King’s legacy with discussion and insights focused on what it means to choose a more difficult path and stand up for justice. What does justice mean for you? For us? And who has been included in the ‘us’ when answering this question?”
On Monday, Jan. 20, “Persistence and Resistance: Reflections on the Shenandoah Valley’s Enslaved” is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Goodson Chapel-Recital Hall. Associate Professor of History Ann Denkler, Ph.D., and Director of Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute Jonathan Noyalas ’01 M.A., discuss the experiences of the Shenandoah Valley’s enslaved in the decades leading up to and during the Civil War.
Following the presentation, the Harambee Gospel Choir performs from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Goodson Chapel-Recital Hall. The Martin Luther King Jr. Service Of Remembrance runs from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and features Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Therapy Hakeem Leonard, Ph.D.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Mangyang Yeath Kur, founder and director of Humanity Helping Sudan Project, speaks from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Armstrong Hall and from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium. Kur will discuss the South Sudanese refugee crisis and his company 734 Coffee, which gives back to the Sudanese people.
Also on Tuesday, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Brandt Student Center, Professor of Sport Management Brian Wigley, Ed.D., discusses the 1968 Olympic protest in the presentation “More Than ‘Black Power.” This presentation explores the little-known Olympic Project for Human Rights, the influence of prominent sociologist Harry Edwards, and how athletics played a role in the Civil Rights Movement.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Goodson Chapel-Recital Hall, conservatory students under the direction of Associate Professor of Voice Byron Jones, D.M.A, illustrate the theme of persistence and resistance through instrumental music, sung and spoken word, and dance. Connections will be drawn between the slave experience and Dr. King’s reflection on the centennial of emancipation.
A ball pit is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Brandt Student Center on Jan. 20 and 21. Students are encouraged to join others to talk about difficult topics.
Throughout the week, workshops will be held where students and faculty can learn and practice skills for facilitating dialogues across differences. Several presentations about activism, resistance and resilience will also take place over lunch, dinner and dessert.
Several service projects are set for the week, including a Rise Against Hunger food packaging event from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, in Shingleton Gymnasium, and a Food Recovery Network meal packaging event from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, in Allen Dining Hall.
The week concludes with a slave cemetery mapping project from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, in Middletown, Virginia. For an in-depth schedule of events during Martin Luther King Jr. Week at Shenandoah, visit https://www.su.edu/mlk/.
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