Honoring Martin Luther King with celebration and service
If you're not taking Jan. 18 off to serve your community, how about joining the Penn community in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. instead?
The week of Martin Luther King Day will once again be filled with programs, cultural activities and other events that celebrate the civil-rights leader and his legacy. Lectures and panel discussions will show how his message moved many others beyond the black community to fight for their rights and how it continues to resonate today.
And this year there is a new home for what has become the central theme of the King holiday: Civic House, which will host the annual banner-painting on Sunday, Jan. 17, and a community service fair for students on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Highlights of Penn's King commemoration over the next two weeks include:
Sunday, Jan. 17
- BANNER PAINTING: Students will paint banners featuring quotes from King that will hang over Locust Walk all week. 2 to 6 p.m. at Civic House, 3914 Locust Walk.
- ANTI-VIOLENCE VIGIL: Join the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha in a candlelight march against violence. March departs DuBois College House, 3900 Walnut St., at 7 p.m. and ends at the Christian Association, 3601 Locust Walk, with a vigil until 8:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 18
- BREAKFAST: Walter Palmer, director of the Palmer Foundation, delivers the keynote address. 9 to 11 a.m. at DuBois College House.
- NOONTIME: Keynote speaker: Rev. Betty Campbell, Salem Baptist Church. Noon to 2 p.m. at the Penn Tower Hotel, 34th St. and Civic Center Blvd.
- SYMPOSIUM: Scholars and civic leaders discuss how Penn can help keep King's dream alive on campus and in the larger community. 3 to 4:30 p.m. at DuBois College House.
- EVENING COMMEMORATIVE: City Councilman Angel Ortiz will deliver the keynote speech. 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Room A-1, David Rittenhouse Laboratory, 33rd and Walnut streets.
Tuesday, Jan. 19
- COMMUNITY SERVICE FAIR: Representatives from Penn's community service organizations will be on hand to meet with interested students. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Civic House.
- HONORING PAUL ROBESON: "A Night with Brother Paul Robeson" celebrates the singer-activist's life and legacy and explores his influence on the Civil Rights Movement. 7:30 to 9 p.m. at DuBois College House.
Thursday, Jan. 21
- INTERFAITH SERVICE: Guest speaker: Charles Marsh, director of the Project on Theology and Community at Loyola College in Baltimore. 4:30 p.m. in Room B-6, Stiteler Hall, 208 S. 37th St.
- KIYOSHI KUROMIYA: The outspoken AIDS activist talks about his personal experiences with King and their impact on his own life. 7:30 p.m. at The Veranda, 3620 Locust Walk.
Tuesday, Jan. 26
- COMMEMORATIVE ADDRESS: Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, is the speaker. 4:30 p.m. in Room B-1, Meyerson Hall, 210 S. 34th St. Reception follows at 5:30 p.m.
Additional King commemorative events are scheduled throughout the spring semester. A complete schedule of events is available from the African-American Resource Center at 898-0104 or at the Martin Luther King Commemorative Celebration Web site.
