Durham MLK Events

This weekend, we celebrate the life and legacy of Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of us have the day off on Monday, and I encourage each and every one of you out there - whether you are working or not, to take some time and reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and the work of others in the civil rights movement. If you are in Durham, there are several fantastic events going on around campus. Some are posted here:

January 20, 2008
Marian Wright Edelman to Speak at Duke's 2008 MLK Commemoration Time: 3:00 pm - Location: Duke Chapel - Duke University Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund and civil rights lawyer, will be the keynote speaker at Duke University's 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. The event, which begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, in Duke Chapel, is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Bryan Center parking garage; directions are available in the campus map.
January 21, 2008
Triangle Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Time: Times vary by project - Location: Locations vary by project The Triangle United Way has organized the Triangle Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. As one of the sponsors, Duke University invites all Duke Raleigh employees to participate. Volunteers are needed for a variety of community projects in Orange, Durham and Wake Counties on January 21. Visit www.trianglemlkdayofservice.org for a list of projects in your area. Pat Kramer, DRAH United Way Chair, and the DRAH Diversity Team would like to gather a group of DRAH volunteers to help out on a Wake County project.
African Children's Choir Time: 3:00 pm - Location: Page Auditorium The African Children's Choir performs throughout the world bringing hope and joy to everyone they meet while shining the spotlight on the plight of children in Africa. It is comprised of children ages seven to eleven. Each child in the Choir, has lost one or both parents to poverty or disease. The Choir members are ambassadors for all children in Africa who have become orphans because of the AIDS pandemic. They are their voice to the rest of the world.
Durham: A Self Portrait Time: 7:00 pm - Location: Griffith Film Theater "Durham: a Self-Portrait" is a documentary film on the history of one of the South?s most remarkable communities. The Durham story mirrors America's own amazing journey over the past century, in all its glory and vexation. It includes more than 70 original interviews, and rarely seen film and photo images, about the "real Durham." A city that has lived the American story of race and class, and just may once again have something to say about where we are going as a nation.
January 22, 2008
Martin Luther King Jr. Observance and Prayer Service Time: 11:30 a.m. - Location: Duke Raleigh Hospital Chapel Rev. Adrian Dixon will lead an observance and prayer service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 23, 2008
Million Meals Time: 6-8 pm, 8-10 pm - Location: North Carolina Central University This coming year on January 23rd Duke University, Durham Rotary Club, North Carolina Central University, and the international hunger relief agency Stop Hunger Now will be participating in the Million Meals project. We plan to have students from the universities work towards the goal of packaging 80,000 nourishing, dehydrated, rice-soy meals. The meals the volunteers package for Stop Hunger Now will then be sent to crisis-burdened areas and school lunch programs to feed children in developing countries such as Ghana, Bolivia, and Haiti.
January 24, 2008
Breaking the Cycle of Prejudice: Taking a Closer Look at Discrimination, Prejudice & Stereotypes Time: 12:00 Noon - Location: Room 144 - Trent Drive Hall Conference Room On April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. third grade school teacher Jane Elliot decided to change her lesson plan, and changed the lives of her all white third graders forever. In response to Dr. King's assassination, this teacher in a small, all-white Iowa town devised the controversial and startling "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" experiment by dividing her third-grade class based on eye color and giving them a daring lesson in discrimination. Come view an excerpt of the powerful film "A Class Divided" that documents the experience of these third graders and the enduring impact that this simulation had on the student's lives. Judy Seidenstein, Duke's new Director of Diversity & Equity will facilitate a conversation on this "classic" diversity film and explore the impact of The Cycle of Prejudice by identifying the roots and relationships between discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes. Join the dialog and learn what you can do to help break the cycle of prejudice. Brown Bag Lunches Welcome. Space is limited. RSVP to Jean Toomer Friday, January 18, 2008 - 681-6435 or email jean.toomer@duke.edu
"4 Little Girls" Film Screening Time: 6 p.m. - Location: Schiciano Auditorium On a Birmingham Sunday morning, September 15, 1963, while attending Sunday school, four little girls were brutally murdered when a bomb ripped through the basement of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Dead were Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Denise McNair (11), Cynthia Wesley (14) and Carole Rosamond Robertson (14). A terrorist attack, orchestrated by Robert "Dynamite Bob" Chambliss, the bombing was one in a series of racial attacks against Black people across the country, but one that had a tremendous impact on America. Told through the eyes of people who were there--survivors, witnesses, defenders and prosecutors, this account records a senseless act whose supporters once thought they would be able to put an end to integration in Birmingham. Instead, it fueled the movement further when it robbed 4 innocent children of their lives and their place in the world. Sponsored by the Black Graduate and Professional Students Association.