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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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