Elizabethtown College -MLK Week

Martin Luther King Jr. Week

collage of martin luther king and civil rights photos with focus on martin in a thinking post Begnining in 2005, each January, Elizabethtown College honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The program has grown from a one-day event to a week-long celebration aligning with a nationwide initiative.

The tradition starts with a Kick-Off, Gospel Extravaganza and week of service. On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no classes are scheduled this day to allow all students, faculty and staff to participate in service projects. The rest of the week is filled with arts and educational events, including concerts, notable speakers and panel discussions.

For information about Martin Luther King Jr. Week, contact the Office of Diversity. Each year's schedule of events will be posted to this page several weeks before the celebration.

2012 Schedule of Events

Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Dream Still to Fulfill

Monday, January 16

All Day
Community Service
Location: Various
A day of service to the community, at large, in celebration of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sponsor: Center for Civic and Community Engagement
Contact: mlkd@etown.edu
Campus community only

10:30 a.m.
MLK Program Kick Off
Location: Brossman Commons Blue Bean
Opening celebration of activities and events to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Sponsor: Martin Luther King Jr. planning committee
Contact: Monae Kelsey at 717-361-1983 or kelseym@etown.edu
Open to the public

11 a.m.
MLK-themed Lunch
Location: Brossman Commons Marketplace
The Office of Diversity hosts a traditional southern fare-themed lunch in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr.
Sponsor: Martin Luther King Jr. planning committee
Contact: Monae Kelsey at 717-361-1983 or kelseym@etown.edu
Open to the public

1:30 p.m.
Colorless Discrimination: The Disability Rights Movement
Brinser Lecture Room
Facilitator: Jean-Paul Benowitz, Assistant Director of Academic Advising; Panelists: Lauren Hamilton '12; Alexander Liebergall '12; Paul Whitman; Lynne Davies, Director of Learning Services; Research contributor, Elizabeth Donnon.

3:30 p.m.
Panel discussion -- “The Economic and Symbolic Legacy of Dr. King”
Hoover 212
Dr. Sanjay Paul, chair, Business Department, discusses “The American Middle Class: The State of Income, Inequality and the Financial Crisis” and W. Wesley McDonald, Professor, Department of Political Science talks about “Martin Luther King and the Politics of Guilt.” Discussant is E. Fletcher McClellan, Dean of Faculty
Sponsor: Martin Luther King Jr. planning committee
Contact: Monae Kelsey at 717-361-1983 or kelseym@etown.edu
Open to the public

6:15 p.m.
MLK Candlelight March
Locations: Begin at Brossman Commons Blue Bean
Reenact the Civil Rights March to remember the struggles of the civil rights movement of which Martin Luther King Jr. was a major leader.
Sponsor: Office of Diversity
Contact: Monae Kelsey at 717-361-1983 or kelseym@etown.edu
Open to the public

7 p.m.
MLK Gospel Extravaganza and Awards
Location: Leffler Chapel and Performance Center
Various community and college performers, including Harris AME Zion Church Choir; Alysa Poindexter ’12, English Professional Writing major and communications minor; Elizabethtown College Concert Choir; and St. Peters Lutheran Church Choir celebrate through music, dance and spoken word. Awards are given faculty and staff awards for contributions to diversity and inclusion.
Sponsor: Office of Diversity
Contact: Monae Kelsey at 717-361-1983 or kelseym@etown.edu
Open to the public

Tuesday, Jan. 17

All Day
Community Service
Location: various
A day of service to the community, at large, in celebration of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sponsor: Center for Civic and Community Engagement
Contact: mlkd@etown.edu
Campus community onlyCommunity Service

Noon
Henrietta Lacks Open Book Experience & Brown Bag Lunch - Faculty and Staff
BC 200
Sponsored by Open Book Committee

5 p.m.
“The Black Image”
Hoover 211
Olivia Cesar, Class of 2014

6:30 p.m.
“The Help”
KĀV
Feature Film and Presentation -- Facilitator:Dr. Rita Shah, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology; Panelists: Dr. Conrad Kanagy, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology; Olivia Cesar '14; Hannah Reagan '13; Alysa Poindexter, 12.

Wednesday, Jan. 18

11 a.m.
MLK presentation – “Black History in the White House”
Leffler Chapel and Performance Center
Dr. Clarence Lusane, associate professor at the School of International Service, American University, and an author, scholar and journalist on race, human rights and electoral politics, presents “Black History of the White House” as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration events at Elizabethtown College.

Lusane teaches and researches on international human rights, comparative race relations, social movements and electoral politics. For more than 30 years, he has written about and been active in national and international anti-racism politics, globalization, U.S. foreign policy, human rights and social issues such as education and drug policy. Lusane spent two years living in London while conducting research on racism and human rights in Europe and working with European institutions and NGOs.

His most recent book is The Black History of the White House (City Lights), a comprehensive history of the White House from an African-American perspective; illuminating the central role it has played in advancing, thwarting or simply ignoring efforts to achieve equal rights for all. Read more about Dr. Clarence Lusane here.

Sponsor: Office of Diversity and Dean of Faculty
Contact: Monae Kelsey at 717-361-1983 or kelseym@etown.edu
Open to the public

6 p.m.
"Return of the King: Analysis of MLK in the Present Day”
Founders Hall Lobby
Ginette Slaughter '14, Kian Spady '14
Sponsored by Noir

7:30 p.m.
“Keeping the Dream Straight: Martin Luther King Jr., Homosexuality and Gay Rights”
Hoover 212
Dr. Michael Long, Department of Religious Studies

8:30 p.m.
Soul Café – “Stand Up”
Location: Blue Bean, Brossman Commons
The Soul Café theme is "Stand Up," and will involve questions about what students stand for in terms of justice and service.
Sponsor: Religious Life
Contact: Amy Shorner-Johnson
Open to the public