 | Jim Lucas |
Yale is marking the birthday of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) with a series of films, concerts, lectures and other programs.
Highlighting this year's celebration will be a program encouraging faculty, staff and students to volunteer for community service, a gospel concert, a community brunch and the Peabody's annual MLK program, featuring a one-man performance of excerpts from King's speeches.
Yale's MLK program was coordinated by the Yale Coalition for Diversity, a group of faculty, staff and students working to foster an educational and work environment that embraces and promotes diversity and equity at all levels of the University. Brochures about the weekend are available in the Office of Diversity at the Graduate School, 320 York St.; the schedule is also available online at http://nursing.yale.edu/Community/mlk.html.
The University-sponsored events honoring King began before the publication date of this paper with "MLK's Legacy and the Middle Class," a film screening and panel discussion, on Jan. 12 at the Graduate School; "A Birthday Party for MLK," featuring readings from "The Life and Essential Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," on Jan. 13 at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health; and "Reflections on the Words and Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," featuring discussions of King's essays "The Purpose of Education" and "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?" on Jan. 13, also at the Graduate School.
Members of the Yale community can carry on King's legacy by volunteering to serve in New Haven through the "Strengthening Communities: 1,000 Hours of Service" program.
The goal of the initiative, sponsored by Dwight Hall and the Yale Coalition for Diversity, is to inspire faculty, staff and students to donate four hours of their time -- for 1,000 or more hours collectively -- of community service.
There will be opportunities throughout the MLK celebration weekend at Habitat for Humanity, Vincent Mauro Elementary School and Hillhouse High School. There will also be other service opportunities throughout January and February with such groups and agencies as The New Haven Reads Book Bank, Mustardseed Afternoon Club, College Resource Center, Student Legal Action Movement and Leeway, as well as women's shelters and other programs.
Interested individuals may sign up to volunteer at the various MLK events or in Yale Commons 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. during the week before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Volunteers can also obtain forms by sending e-mail to hannah.guhm@yale.edu.
The Black Church at Yale and the University Chaplain's Office will jointly sponsor "MLK Jr. Gospel Extravangaza," a concert of gospel music, on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. in Battell Chapel, corner of College and Elm streets.
Performers will include the Nubian Gents, a step team from Harlem; gospel and jazz violinist Kersten Stevens; the Yale Gospel Choir; Nnenna Ukwu; the University of New Haven's Hands of Praise; the Kappa King Chapter of Gamma Phi Delta; and the Black Church at Yale Praise and Worship Team.
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for non-students.
The Interracial Dialogue Project and Yale Peace will sponsor an "Anti-War Vigil: In Honor of Dr. King" at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15, on Cross Campus. The candlelight vigil will feature readings from King's anti-war speeches and testimonials from individuals involved in currently ongoing wars.
The Peabody Museum of Natural History will once again pay tribute to King's legacy with a two-day celebration honoring his efforts to ensure environmental and social justice among all people and to raise awareness about urban environmental issues and public health concerns that disproportionately affect communities of color.
"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy of Environmental and Social Justice" will take place Sunday and Monday, Jan. 16 and 17. Environmental justice is based on the principle that all members of a society have the right to clean air, water and soil, and that no one possesses the right to degrade and destroy the environment. It also includes a guarantee of equal access to relief and the possibility of meaningful community participation in the decisions of government and industry.
The MLK program, which has become one of the museum's longest-running annual programs, features free admission.
Highlighting this year's program will be a presentation of the Arnold J. Alderman Memorial Lecture featuring Jim Lucas, who will present "Reflections," a one-man performance of excerpts from King's famous speeches. The presentation will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Peabody's third-floor auditorium.
Lucas, who bears a strong resemblance to King, has toured the country with this show, bringing to life the words, background and experiences of the civil rights leader through renditions of "I Have a Dream," "I've Been to the Mountaintop" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
The Peabody's MLK celebration also features live performances in music, dance and poetry, with related audience participation opportunities, as well as hands-on activities for families. Many local organizations will present educational displays about environmental awareness and social justice. A detailed schedule of events can be found at www.peabody.yale.edu/events and on the Peabody Infotape at (203) 432-5050.
Citizens Bank has been a longtime supporter of the museum's MLK celebration. "Dr. King was a champion for peace, justice and equality," says Joseph J. MarcAurele, chair and president of Citizens Bank of Connecticut. "It is imperative to keep these ideals alive among all generations. The Peabody Museum's free festival is a wonderful way to share his message to some for the first time while serving as a reminder for the rest of us."
Other sponsors include The Children of Arnold J. Alderman, Connecticut Humanities Council, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, CTTRANSIT, Poland Spring Water, and the Yale Office of New Haven and State Affairs.
Free city bus passes to and from the Peabody Museum are available both days on a limited basis. Call (203) 432-6646; those without passes in advance may pick one up at the front desk for a free ride home.
The Peabody Museum of Natural History is located at 170 Whitney Ave.
Yale will host a "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Brunch" celebrating New Haven's rich cultural heritage at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 16, in the Presidents Room of Woolsey Hall, corner of College and Grove streets.
Keynote speakers will be the Reverend Frederick J. Streets, University chaplain and senior pastor of the Church of Christ at Yale; and Rabbi Herbert Brockman, spiritual leader of Congregation Mishkan Israel, a synagogue in Hamden.
Tickets, at $35, are available through the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, (203) 865-0831, ext. 21.
Also on Jan. 16, Dionne Warwick will sing some of her favorite songs as part of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) program "Shared Dreams: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Concert" at 3 p.m. in Woolsey Hall, corner of College and Grove streets.
NHSO music director Jung-Ho Pak will direct the symphony's MLK concert, which will also feature performances by the Yale Gospel Choir, Kersten Stevens, The Afro-Semitic Experience, the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven Choir, the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School Orchestra, the Amistad Academy Band and the Wexler Grant Elementary School Choir.
Tickets are $5-$35 and are available at the Shubert Theater box office, 247 College St., (203) 562-5666; or online at www.newhavensymphony.org.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 17, the Graduate School will kick off a day of community service being sponsored by the "Strengthening Communities: 1,000 Hours of Service" initiative with a brunch featuring live jazz 9-11 a.m. in McDougal Graduate Student Center common room, Hall of Graduate Studies, 320 York St. The event is sponsored by the school's Office for Diversity & Equal Opportunity and the McDougal Center. For information, call (203) 432-0763 or send e-mail to pat.cabral@yale.edu.
An exhibition titled "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace" will be on view Jan. 29-Feb. 9 at the Afro-American Cultural Center.
The nationally acclaimed photographic exhibit chronicles the contributions of three advocates of non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Buddhist activist Daisaku Ikeda, winner of the United Nations Peace Prize.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Saturday and 2-6 p.m. on Sunday. The center is located at 211 Park St.
The exhibit will close on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 4 p.m. with a lecture by Ronald Bosco, the Distinguished Service Professor of English and American Literature at the University at Albany and former president of The Thoreau Society. His talk will be "Henry Thoreau's One Night in the Concord Jail and Its Global Legacy of Non-violent Dissent."
The exhibition and talk are free and open to the public.
T H I S
Campus events mark birthday
of Martin Luther King Jr.
"1,000 Hours of Service"
Gospel extravaganza
Anti-war vigil
Annual Peabody celebration
Community brunch
"Shared Dreams" concert
Jazz brunch
Three peace leaders exhibit
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