News Release
Jan. 12, 2009
Northwest schedules MLK events Jan. 19-23
Northwest's Office of Intercultural Affairs will host a series of events in celebration of the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. beginning Monday Jan. 19, the national holiday marking King's birth.
No classes will be held and University offices will close Monday in observance of King Day. King-related activities and discussions on the 19th will take place from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union.
"Obviously, this is a special Martin Luther King Day celebration as we also mark the inauguration of the nation's first African-American president," said Ame Lambert, director of Intercultural Affairs. "It is a perfect opportunity to celebrate, reflect and be renewed in our commitment to equity and social justice for all."
Other events scheduled for the week include:
Tuesday, Jan. 20
- Inauguration watch party, noon, J.W. Jones Student Union Living Room.
- Northwest Forensic Team debate: "Has the Dream been Realized?" 4 p.m., J.W. Jones Student Union Boardroom. The 45-minute debate will be followed by an open forum and question-and-answer session.
Wednesday, Jan. 21
- Freedom Movie Day, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Union Living Room. A day of film screenings featuring movies about civil rights struggles and triumphs.
Thursday, Jan. 22
- Voices of Struggle, Triumph, Freedom and the Future, 1 p.m., Union Living Room. Horace Mann Laboratory School students, Talents Used for Good (TUG) and a gospel choir will sing, read essays and display pictures.
Friday, Jan. 23
- Reflections, 1 p.m., Union Living Room. A round-table of college students will share their thoughts on civil rights and the future of race relations and people of color in America.
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King, who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, and whose observed birthday is a national holiday, was one of the main leaders of the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. A Baptist minister, he is remembered for leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helping found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
These efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, which dramatically raised public consciousness about civil rights and established King as a world figure. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn.
For more information, please contact:
Mark Hornickel, Media Relations Specialist
mhorn@nwmissouri.edu | 660.562.1704 | Fax: 660.562.1900
Northwest Missouri State University
215 Administration Building | 800 University Drive | Maryville, MO 64468
