Grand Valley's commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day will extend beyond the traditional holiday to include more than a week of activities and programs.
With the theme “Shake the World,” events will be held January 15-24 and include keynote addresses by civil rights leader Judy Richardson and national radio personality Michael Eric Dyson, along with a silent march, Day of Service volunteer opportunities and lectures.
Highlights are below; all events are free and open to the public.
For detailed information
visit www.gvsu.edu/mlk. Parking for
events on January 17 and January 19 will be available in parking lot H.
• January 15: Day of Service, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., coordinated by Grand Valley’s Community Service Learning Center. Volunteers will go to Comprenew Environmental to help recycle electronics. Register at www.gvsu.edu/mlk .
Events on January 17 kick off with free breakfasts for students, faculty and staff members served in the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room, and Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center. Reflections from faculty and staff members on King’s life will begin at 9 a.m. Breakfasts will be served from 8:45-10 a.m.
• January 17: Silent March, noon, Allendale Campus, group will assemble at Zumberge Library and march to Kirkhof Center.
• January 17: Program, 12:30 p.m., Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room: Judy Richardson, filmmaker and founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, will discuss her film "Scarred Justice," which details the 1968 Orangeburg, South Carolina, massacre.
Richardson will also speak at 6:30 p.m. at Grand Rapids Community College for the 25th annual community MLK Celebration, with the theme "Looking Back to Look Forward." Richardson is a co-editor of the anthology, Hands on the Freedom Plow: the Personal Testimonials of Women in SNCC. She served as a researcher for "Eyes on the Prize," a PBS series on the history of the civil rights movement, and later associate producer for "Eyes on the Prize II."
• January 19: Program, 5 p.m., Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center: Michael Eric Dyson, professor at Georgetown University, author and radio show host, will discuss “What’s Next? Martin Luther King Jr. in the 21st Century.” Dyson is well-known for his commentary on popular culture and African American society; Ebony has named him one of the most influential African Americans.
An ordained Baptist minister, Dyson has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, DePaul University, Chicago Theological Seminary, University of North Carolina, Columbia and Brown universities.
Because of the expected popularity of the program, the Grand River Room in Kirkhof Center and possibly Loosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center will be used as overflow rooms. Dyson will sign copies of his book following his presentation in LAT.
Prior to the presentation, the Shake the World Unity Choir, comprised mostly of students, will perform a musical prelude.
• January 20: Lecture, 4 p.m., Kirkhof Center, room 2263: “Fighting the Peace at Home,” by Steven Rosales, assistant professor of history.
• January 21: Program, 4 p.m., Kirkhof Center, room 2204: Student Senate will host “The Art of Reflection: Listen, Watch, Dance.”
• January 24: Lecture, 6 p.m., Kirkhof Center, room 2204: “Do
Universal Scholarship Programs Reduce Inequality?” by Michelle
Miller-Adams, assistant professor of political science.
