KINGSTON, R.I. — January 4, 2006 — The University of Rhode Island has planned a week of events in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 29 through Thursday, Feb. 2.
Numerous departments at the University have teamed up to produce and sponsor the following series of lectures, discussions, videos, musical performances and other activities. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information, please visit www.uri.edu/mcc or call the Multicultural Center at 401-874-5829.
Sunday, January 29
3 p.m. Mosaic: Celebration of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean Dance
A program featuring unique dance, music, and rhythms from the Mediterranean countries. Features nine Middle Eastern dancers and three Arabic percussionists. Sponsored by URI’s Great Performances series, cost is $20 general admission; $15 faculty/staff; $5 students/children. Will Theatre, Fine Arts Center.
Monday, January 30
4-5:30 p.m. “A Force More Powerful: A Century Of Nonviolent Conflict:” One of a series of six documentaries describing the use of nonviolence and nonviolent social movements. Screening will be followed by questions and answers with Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., now Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence and Director, URI Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, who is interviewed in the film. Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum, Room 101
Tuesday, January 31
12 – 1:30 p.m. Unity Luncheon, keynote address by Susan Peterson, assistant professor of English at Curry College, who will speak about the life and accomplishments of the late Rosa Parks. A URI graduate, Peterson has promoted tolerance and respect for all cultures, races, and different socio-economic levels by creating a curriculum and magazine that teachers can incorporate the principles of nonviolence in their classrooms.
2005 MLK Peacemaker Award presentation honoring a student or student organization whose goals and activities express their commitment to the pursuit of peace. Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum, Room 101
Wednesday, February 1
4 – 5:45 p.m. Kingian Nonviolence Workshop, facilitated by Sgt. Linda Palazzo of URI’s Office of Parking Services, a certified Kingian nonviolence trainer. Multicultural Center Hardge Forum, Room 101
7 – 9 p.m. Film and discussion: “Paper Clips”
A film about a small homogeneous town in Tennessee whose Middle School administration felt strongly about introducing the subject of Diversity to its students. They chose to start with the Holocaust. The Principal, teachers and students came up with the idea of collecting 6 million paper clips to represent the Jewish victims and 5 million to represent political prisoners, gypsies, homosexuals, and others killed in this mass genocide. The children could not conceive of all these millions but the paper clips made it tangible. The film will be followed by a discussion with URI’s Bryna Wortman, assistant professor of Theatre. Memorial Union, Ballroom.
Thursday, February 2
Noon – 1 p.m. Civil Rights Songfest led by URI’s own Cognitive Dissidents
Memorial Union, Main Lounge
4 – 6 p.m. Film and discussion: “Paper Clips”
A second screening of the film and a discussion in the Memorial Union, Ballroom.
The events are sponsored collaboratively by: Multicultural Center, Division of Student Affairs, the Office of the Chaplains, the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, the Memorial Union, the Cognitive Dissidents, Anointed, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, NAACP, ICON, the Departments of Psychology, Communication Studies, and Political Science, the African and Afro-American Studies Program, the Counseling Center and the Offices of Health Services and Parking Services are all working together to organize and sponsor the events.