Last modified: Thursday, January 10, 2013
Martin Luther King's legacy being celebrated at IU campuses statewide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 10, 2013
Editors: This announcement focuses on major King Day activities on several IU's campuses. Links to additional information can be found at the bottom of this release.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Lectures from filmmaker Madeline Anderson and Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale, a film festival, a theatrical production that imagines a conversation between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and other events highlight activities at Indiana University campuses statewide that celebrate King's legacy.
Classes are not held on the King holiday, which this year is on Jan. 21. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use the day for community service. For example, "A Day On, Not a Day Off," a massive volunteer effort, will be organized in cooperation with a number of nonprofit agencies, IU and the city of Bloomington.
At IU Bloomington, the campus's first official MLK Day Film Festival will highlight a week of activities. IU Cinema and the Black Film Center/Archive will co-sponsor the presentation of three films, including Anderson's 1970 documentary, "I Am Somebody."
Anderson documented the story of 400 poorly paid black hospital workers in Charleston, S.C., who went on strike to pursue a fair wage increase, only to find themselves in a confrontation with the state government and National Guard. Supported by such notable figures as Andrew Young and Coretta Scott King, the women moved forward under the guidance of a New York-based union and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The film itself marked an accomplishment for Anderson. With it, she became the first American-born black woman in a film industry union to make a half-hour documentary film. Anderson also directed the documentaries "Integration Report" (1960) and "A Tribute to Malcolm X" (1969), among numerous other films.
She served as an in-house film editor at NET (now WNET) and was a member of the original staff at Black Journal. Anderson also has created many films for children, for both the Children's Television Workshop and Infinity Factory TV. She has taught at Columbia University's Graduate School of the Arts and was one of the pioneers of WHMM, Howard University's public television station.
Her awards and honors include the Indie Award from the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, a lifelong achievement award for contributions to the arts of film and television. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1992.
Anderson will speak after the film screening, which begins at 4 p.m. Jan. 18, and a film festival reception will take place at 5:45 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. Other films -- "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored" and "Boycott" -- will be shown the next day at IU Cinema. All the events are free and open to the public.
Bobby Seale at IUPUI
Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party in 1966, will be the keynote speaker at IUPUI's 44th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner, at 6 p.m. Jan. 20. The dinner will take place at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, 140 W. Washington St.
As an activist in the 1960s and 1970s, Seale worked for causes including better social services in black neighborhoods. Today, defining himself as a "revolutionary humanist," he calls for a society of greater direct community democracy complete with cyberspace activism, and he demonstrates how civil rights issues are interconnected and interrelated with environmental problems and global economics. Seale's books include "Seize the Time" and "A Lonely Rage."
The King celebration dinner is presented by the Black Student Union with the support of the IUPUI Office of Student Involvement. In addition to the keynote address, the annual dinner includes an award ceremony honoring campus and community recipients for service reflective of King's dream of social justice and equality.
Individual tickets for the dinner, on sale at the IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd., Suite 370, are $25 for IUPUI undergraduate and graduate students; $65 for IUPUI faculty and staff; and $75 for community guests. Sponsorship packages are also available. For more information, call the Office of Student Involvement at 317-274-3931 or contact Meaghan Banks at meagbank@iupui.edu.
'The Meeting' at IU Northwest
At IU Northwest, Jeff Stetson's award-winning play "The Meeting," which portrays an imagined conversation set one week before Malcolm X's assassination in February 1965, will be presented at 6 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Savannah Center's Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Wesley Lawrence Taylor, left, a graduate of the New Theatre Conservatory, portrays Malcolm X, and Jeff Robinson, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, portrays the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in "The Meeting."
The production of "The Meeting" presents Jeff Robinson, a St. Louis native and graduate of the Berklee College of Music, as King; and Wesley Lawrence Taylor, a Boston native and graduate of the New Theatre Conservatory, as Malcolm X. Michael Nurse, a native of London and alumnus of Emerson College, also is in the production.
The play takes place Feb. 14, 1965, in a Harlem hotel room where Malcolm X is staying after speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Malcolm has invited King to visit him. The play presents what could have transpired between King, a champion of nonviolent protest, and Malcolm X, an advocate of direct action through self-defense if necessary.
Within a week of the play's setting, Malcolm X was assassinated, as was King three years later. The play examines the clash of the ideas and tactics for the advancement of freedom, the humanity of two devout men of faith, loving fathers and husbands and leaders, who were each willing to lay down their lives for the cause of justice.
For more information about "The Meeting," contact Phyllis Barlow at 219-980-6596 or plbarlow@iun.edu.
Joe Madison at IPFW
At Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, civil rights activist and national radio host Joe Madison -- also known as "The Black Eagle" -- will speak at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 in the International Ballroom of the Walb Student Union, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd. He will speak on the topic, "The Relevancy of the Dream in 2013 and Beyond."
Madison can be heard weekdays on Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel 128 "The Power." He established himself as a civil rights activist as an executive with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People beginning in 1974. His tenure spanned over two decades.
Celebration Concert at IU South Bend
A Martin Luther King Celebration Concert will begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 in the Main Auditorium of Northside Hall at IU South Bend. The evening will be filled with inspirational music, from Mozart to Uzee Brown. Tickets are free but must be reserved by calling the IU South Bend box office at 574-520-4203.
The concert will feature the South Bend Symphony with Maestro Tsung Yeh and guest violinist Ade Williams of Chicago. Named artist-in-residence with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra in 2012, Williams, 15, was the First-Place Laureate of the 2012 Sphinx Competition in Detroit. She debuted at the age of 6 with the Chicago Sinfonietta as that orchestra's youngest ever soloist.
The concert will include a video by New Media students of Eric Souther at IU South Bend. The video was inspired by the study of the civil rights movement and documents the struggles and achievements of citizens committed to social justice.
Also performing will be the South Bend Symphonic Choir with director Marvin Curtis, dean of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts; the IU South Bend Chorale; the IU South Bend Gospel Choir; and the IU South Bend Chamber Choir.
Also at IU Bloomington:
Other events at IU Bloomington will include a day of activities for elementary school children at the IU School of Education, a leadership breakfast, a unity summit and other activities in campus cultural centers and the Hutton Honors College. All IU Bloomington events celebrating King's life are free and open to the public, with the exception of the leadership breakfast, which is by invitation only.
The university also will help to present the Bloomington community's celebration at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, which will feature as keynote speaker Carlotta Walls LaNier of the Little Rock Nine. The community celebration, which also will feature musical performances, will take place at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., and is free and open to the public.
The theme for IU Bloomington's celebration is "Living King's Legacy: Making a Career of Humanity."
Also on Jan. 21, the IU School of Optometry, in collaboration with the Salvation Army, Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity students, the city of Bloomington and the Bloomington Lions Clubs, will provide eye exams and eye glasses to members of the Bloomington community who do not have access to vision care. Eligible patients are required to sign up with the Salvation Army before the holiday. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Community Eye Care Center, 803 N. Monroe St. Call 812-336-4310 for more information.
The IU Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs and the MLK Jr. Day Celebration Planning Committee are coordinating many events. They are working closely with Residential Programs and Services, the IU College of Arts and Sciences and the IU schools of education and optometry.
Details about other IU Bloomington events:
- An annual Leadership Breakfast that brings the IU community together to focus on King's ideals, beginning at 8 a.m. Jan. 21 at the IU Auditorium. Winners of IU's MLK Day essay contest and Building Bridges Award will be announced and receive special recognition. Attendance is by invitation only, and an RSVP is required to mlkjr@indiana.edu.
- A Unity Summit in the Willkie Auditorium, 150 N. Rose Ave., noon to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 21. The event brings IU students together for a program that promotes civil dialogue and explores ways to improve the campus climate for all IU students.
- The IU Bloomington School of Education's 10th Annual King Activity Day With Children, Jan. 21, in the School of Education Atrium. Elementary-age students from the community will participate in a variety of educational activities, 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. For more information or to volunteer, contact Leana McClain at 812-856-8160 or lemcclai@indiana.edu.
- During the IU women's basketball game against Michigan State on Jan. 20, videos will be shown during time-outs celebrating the achievements of former IU student-athletes such as Bill Garrett, Milt Campbell, Denise Jackson and George Taliaferro. A handout will be available about the student-athletes' and King's legacies. Game tickets are available from the IU Athletics Ticket Office for the special price of $1, including on the day of the game.
- A student art showcase, "Expressions of Dr. King's Dream for Humanity," will begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre in downtown Bloomington.
- "Martin Luther King Jr.: Life and Legacy on Display," through Jan. 31 at the Wells Library Lobby and at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library.
- "Catalyst: An Emergent Theater Project Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King," at 4 p.m. Jan. 20 in Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St.
- "Diversity, Multiculturalism & Inclusion: Realizing the Dream Through Spoken Word," from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 21 at the DeVault Alumni Center, 1000 E. 17th St.
- A screening of the 1990 documentary, "The Road to Brown," at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Black Film Center/Archive, located in the Wells Library.
- An American Red Cross blood drive from 2 to 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Hutton Honors College.
Complete information about all IU Bloomington events is available at a special Martin Luther King Jr. celebration website.
Links to information about King Day events at other IU campuses:
