51¸£ÀûÉç

KALAMAZOO—Activities 51¸£ÀûÉç Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and across the broader Kalamazoo community are planned to honor slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., including a convocation, march, day of service, educational programs and presentations.

"Seeding the Dream" is the theme of this year's celebration, which includes events throughout 2013 to honor the 50th anniversary of King's visit to 51¸£ÀûÉç in 1963. All events are free and open to the public.

Schedule

Thursday, Jan. 17

• "Martin Luther King Jr. and the Vietnam War: War as the Enemy of the Poor," 7 p.m., 208 Bernhard Center. Discussion of the historical perspective and its relevance for today.

Friday, Jan. 18

• Black History 101 Mobile Museum exhibit, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., 100 Hicks Student Center, Kalamazoo College.
• Reception for the Black History 101 Mobile Museum exhibit, 7 to 8 p.m., Banquet Room East and West, Hicks Student Center, Kalamazoo College, with keynote address by Khalid el-Hakim, founder of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum.

Saturday, Jan. 19

• Public school students visitation, open to middle and high school students and families from Kalamazoo Public Schools and surrounding school districts, 9 a.m. registration, East Ballroom, Bernhard Center.
• Collective Liberation and Leadership Learnshops, 10:30 a.m., Wesley Foundation. Participants will engage in a two-day program that utilizes popular education methods and techniques to explore new approaches to working toward more inclusive communities. An experienced member of the Catalyst Project will lead the group through a variety of techniques to overcome institutional and personal oppression. Registration is encouraged by sending an email to organize@kzoopeacecenter.org.

Sunday, Jan. 20

• Collective Liberation and Leadership Learnshops, 10:30 a.m., Wesley Foundation. Participants will engage in a two-day program that utilizes popular education methods and techniques to explore new approaches to working toward more inclusive communities. An experienced member of the Catalyst Project will lead the group through a variety of techniques to overcome institutional and personal oppression. Registration is encouraged by sending an email to @email.
• The 27th Annual Northside Ministerial Alliance Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, 4 p.m., Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., with keynote by the Rev. Kenneth Flowers, president of Michigan Progressive Baptist Convention and senior pastor of Greater New Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Detroit.

Monday, Jan. 21

• City of Kalamazoo Communitywide Day of Service, 8 a.m., City Hall, 241 W. South St., with volunteer opportunities available at local service organizations.
• Convocation, 10:50 a.m., Stetson Chapel, Kalamazoo College, with keynote by Harvey Hollins III, director, Office of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives, State of Michigan.
• Presidential Inauguration viewing, noon, Miller Auditorium.
• March to MLK Park, start at 3:30 p.m. at the flagpole at Kanley Chapel, 51¸£ÀûÉç; to Kalamazoo College Red Square, corner of Thompson and Academy streets, at 4 p.m.; to MLK Park, corner of Rose Street and West Michigan Avenue, at 4:30 p.m.
• Roundtable, 7 p.m., Wesley Foundation; sharing of poems, stories, quotes and songs about King and concluding with a candle vigil outside.

Tuesday, Jan. 22

• "Urban Family Contributions to Risk and Resilience in African American Children," 6 to 8 p.m., Kalamazoo Public Library, Van Deusen Room, 315 S. Rose St. Panel discussion featuring service professionals who will offer opinions and advice on understanding relationship patterns and issues faced by minority families and under-resourced children. RSVP by Friday, Jan. 18, at (269) 205-3356 or email emerging-hope@gmail.com.

Thursday, Jan. 24

• Common read experience, 4 p.m., Trimpe Building, with book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," by Steve Harvey for first-year students who were awarded Diversity and Inclusion scholarship. Focus on building healthy romantic relationship among college students. Meets weekly for six weeks.
• "Beyond Diversity: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash," 5 p.m., South Ballroom, Bernhard Center, with keynote by Tim Wise, anti-racism educator. Postponed until 6 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 29
• "The Power and Politics of Performing Race," 6 p.m., Dalton Recital Hall, with keynote by Dr. Harry J. Elam Jr., Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities and vice provost, Stanford University.
• "Live for a Better Dream," an educational lecture about the Dream Act, 8 p.m., 204 Bernhard Center. Canceled

Tuesday, Jan. 29

• "Beyond Diversity: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash," 6 p.m., South Ballroom, Bernhard Center, with keynote by Tim Wise, anti-racism educator.

Tuesday, Feb. 5

• Film presentation "Education Under Fire," followed by panel discussion including faculty and community members about King's legacy of human rights activism at home and abroad, 4 to 5:30 p.m., 3025 Brown Hall.

Friday, Feb. 22

• "Connections Between English Studies and the MLK Dream," a discussion of the ways in which literature, linguistics, creative writing, English education, rhetoric and composition, cultural studies, critical theory and other aspects of English studies can advance issues of social justice and those involving race and ethnicity, 2 p.m., 3025 Brown Hall.

Wednesday, Feb. 27

• Connectedness building workshop, 2 to 4 p.m., Multicultural Center, Trimpe Hall, with Core Team members of 51¸£ÀûÉç Suicide Prevention Program.

Saturday, May 11

• Day of Community Service and Open House, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Tabitha Farm Urban Homestead and Community Garden, 111 Dixie Ave., Kalamazoo. Participants will work together to install fruit trees and work on permaculture projects. Keynote by Malik Yakini, founder and executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.

Sunday, Sept. 15

• Exhibit and lecture on the archaeology of the Underground Railroad in southwest Michigan and discussion of the long history of anti-racist activity in the region, dating back to the 19th century, 1 p.m., Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

For more information, visit wmich.edu/mlk.