E&H Celebrates Life, Influences of Martin Luther King Jan. 16-17
Frank X Walker will be the keynote speaker for the 2011 MLK Celebration on Monday, Jan 17. (photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths)
Emory & Henry College will highlight the lives of people who influenced Martin Luther King as the college and surrounding community participate in a celebration of the civil rights leader Jan. 16-17.
As its keynote speaker for the celebration, Emory & Henry will welcome the award-winning poet Frank X Walker, who will emphasize the theme of the annual E&H Martin Luther King Day Celebration: "Social Action Network: We're all Connected."
The event will focus on individuals who had an impact on King's spiritual, intellectual, theological and political ideologies. The event also aims to shed light on contemporary persons who have been influenced by King, his life and the movement he led.
The event will kick-off Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with a special worship service in the E&H Memorial Chapel. The service will feature music by members of the Emory & Henry community and guest musician Dr. Stephen Jennings of Middletown, Va. James E. Swanson, Sr., resident bishop of the Holston Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, will be preaching at the service.
The celebration will continue Monday beginning at 10 a.m. with the keynote address by Walker, the author of four poetry collections: When Winter Come: the Ascension of York (University Press of Kentucky, 2008); Black Box (Old Cove Press, 2005); Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York (University Press of Kentucky, 2003), which won the Lillian Smith Book Award in 2004; and Affrilachia (Old Cove Press, 2000).
A 2005 recipient of the Lannan Literary Fellowship in Poetry, Walker currently serves as Writer in Residence and lecturer of English at Northern Kentucky University and is the editor and publisher of PLUCK!, the new Journal of Affrilachian Art & Culture.
Following Walker’s speech, several small breakout discussions will take place. Presenters for each group will discuss the influences on Dr. King’s life and his influence on their own lives. These one-hour conversations will begin at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. in various locations on campus.
The keynote address will also be broadcasted live on 90.7 WEHC.
Other events scheduled for the weekend include:
Saturday, Jan. 15
• Paper Drive for Ecumenical Faith in Action (all weekend long)
• Project Linus meeting (11 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Board of Visitors Lounge)
• Habitat for Humanity project (CANCELED)
Monday, Jan. 17
• Music by Little Sophies prior to Keynote Address (10 a.m.)
• Documentary, “King” (3:30 p.m. in McGlothlin-Street Hall room 102)
• Celebration Dinner (5 – 7 p.m. in the Van Dyke Dining Hall)
• Dessert and a Song (6 p.m. in the Board of Visitors Lounge)
• Poetry Reading by Frank X Walker (7:30 p.m. in the Board of Visitors Lounge)
For more information about events included in the 2011 Martin Luther King Day Celebration please contact Mary K. Briggs at 276-944-6836 or at mkbriggs@ehc.edu.
