A community wide video project recreating the “I Have a Dream” speech highlights the College’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Series.
The celebration kicks off Monday, Jan. 16th from 10 to 11:30 a.m. when Union’s Heavenly Voices Gospel Choir performs the national anthem and the closing number at the New York State Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Memorial Observance at the Convention Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany.
The non-denominational ensemble promotes self-expression through singing contemporary and traditional religious songs, performing at College and community events. Check local television listings to watch.
From noon to 3 p.m. Monday, faculty, staff and students are invited to the Nott Memorial to read lines from the iconic 17-minute speech King delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Aug. 28, 1963. The speech, in which King called for racial equality and an end to discrimination, was a defining moment in the Civil Rights movement.
Dozens of middle and high school students from area schools have been invited to participate in the project, “His Dream Lives On.” The local students also will be paired with Union students throughout the day, including attending class, to give them a taste of the college experience.
On Tuesday, Jan. 17 from 1 to 1:30 p.m. in the Prayer and Meditation Room (Reamer 205), members of the campus community are invited to share “Soul Moments,” select parables of justice as used by King during the Civil Rights movement.
Also on Tuesday, at 5 p.m. in the Unity Room (Reamer 304), students who spent part of their winter break traveling from Charleston, S.C., to New Orleans, La. on the Civil Rights Public History Mini-term will lead a discussion on “Exploring Concepts of Non-Violence, Peaceful Resistance and Civil Disobedience.”
The College’s events are sponsored by Campus Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Africana Studies, Student Activities, Kenney Community Center and Schaffer Library.