U-M’s 25th anniversary MLK Symposium, one of the most prominent observances nationally of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will include former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) official Shirley Sherrod and CBS newsman Byron Pitts.
The event theme is “We The People … Realizing the Dream?” honoring the belief that all must be heard to reach that dream. As something unique to honor the 25th anniversary, the MLK Symposium Planning Committee has asked 20 faculty, administrators and students who have demonstrated an appreciation for diversity to present their comments on the theme for the MLK program book and the symposium website.
U-M units planning MLK-related activities, which typically run from late December into February, are urged to register their events at www.mlksymposium.umich.edu. Units must register by Tuesday (Nov. 23) to have activities highlighted in the MLK Symposium’s 25th anniversary commemorative booklet. Events submitted after Nov. 23 will be listed on the website but not in the booklet.
“In an era where we see so many initiatives and ideas in the nation that come and go with the flow of time, it’s incredible that this will be the 25th observation of Dr. King’s legacy, which has impacted so many people,” says John Matlock, associate vice provost and executive director, Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI).
“It’s a tremendous credit to the ongoing commitment and dedication that our faculty, staff, students and the surrounding community have shown over the years,” Matlock says. “The annual tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was initiated by students, and I am very proud of the fact that the campus has institutionalized the holiday and that we continue to embrace Dr. King’s, and many others, notion of civil rights, social justice and equal opportunities for all people in the United States and the world.”
This year’s MLK Symposium keynote speaker is Sherrod, formerly the USDA state director of rural development for Georgia. She will speak at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 at Hill Auditorium.
Sherrod
Sherrod was thrust into the national spotlight when she was wrongfully terminated from her government job for comments she made that were taken out of context. Later, the USDA offered to reinstate her position.
“We selected Shirley Sherrod because of her longstanding commitment to promoting civil rights, particularly among rural communities,” says Theda Gibbs, OAMI student affairs program manager and MLK Symposium coordinator.
Other prominent speakers and events scheduled for the symposium include:
• Pitts, chief national correspondent for the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” and a contributing correspondent to “60 Minutes.” He will present the Stephen M. Ross School of Business MLK Day Lecture “MLK Stepped Out on Nothing For Us,” at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Ross School’s Blau Auditorium.
Pitts
• Civil rights pioneer and Algebra Project founder Robert Moses will head the 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. Jan.14-15 event, “We the People: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Education.” It will feature lectures, conversations and workshops that will explore movement building strategy for quality education, relationship building across stakeholder groups, and provide an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, youth and community members to become connected to transforming educational experiences. It will be presented in the Palmer Commons Great Lakes Room.
• Juana Bordas, founder of Mestiza Leadership International, which specializes in training and developing a work environment that encourages diversity and effective leadership, will present the keynote speech “Diversity: Weaving Together the Sources of our Strength,” for the Business and Finance MLK Day Convocation from 1-3 p.m. Jan. 17 at Rackham Auditorium. A reception will follow.
Bordas
• Richard Moore, senior advisor and special projects coordinator for Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, will be the keynote speaker at the School of Natural Resources and Environment Dean’s Speaker Series/Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee Lecture at 5 p.m. Jan. 24 at Rackham Amphitheatre.
Other MLK Symposium highlights include the talk, “The Freedom to Marry and Our Inheritance from Martin Luther King Jr.,” at 2 p.m. Jan. 15 in 250 Hutchings Hall, on the struggle for civil liberties in the context of gay marriage; “Healing the Wounds — The Health Disparities Legacy of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement,” at 11:45 a.m. Jan. 17 in Dow Auditorium, Towsley Center; “Public Defense: Right or Privilege?” at 1 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Pendleton Room, Michigan Union; and the annual MLK Day of Service and Children & Youth Program.
For more information contact Gibbs at [email protected] or 734-936-1055.
