Celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
UM-Dearborn hosts the annual MLK Day of Service on Jan. 15, followed by a week of events that highlight Dr. King and the importance of continued social justice work....
If life is to be complete, we must move beyond our self-interest.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
To commemorate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., the University of Michigan-Dearborn is hosting a week of programs and events inspired by the above quote and dedicated toward nonviolent social improvement and the development of positive communities.
The week kicked off on Monday, Jan. 17, with the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Day of Service. The community service event, which was established by UM-Dearborn and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, brought more than 600 volunteers to sites around metropolitan Detroit, including nonprofit agencies, soup kitchens, senior centers and schools.
The MLK Day of Service ran from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with participants meeting at the University Center (UC) on the UM-Dearborn campus and then departing for their selected sites. The group reconvened in the afternoon for a reflection lunch featuring Detroit native and Cody high school graduate Jessica care Moore, an internationally renowned poet, publisher, activist, rock star, playwright and actor.
The University collaborated on the event with Madonna University, Davenport University, Henry Ford Community College, Oakland University, Oakland Community College, Wayne State University and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
Volunteers dispersed throughout the metropolitan Detroit area to support local community agencies. Among the activities, volunteers assisted Bridging Communities Inc. with elder home beautification initiatives in Southwest Detroit; worked hand-in-hand constructing affordable housing with Habitat for Humanity; renovated abandoned homes with Motor City Blight Busters; and partnered with Gleaners Community Food Bank to sort and pack food items to be delivered to local charities and shelters.
The week continues with a variety of events for students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members on the UM-Dearborn campus.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 features a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson at 10 a.m. in Kochoff Hall A. Wilkinson will discuss the various social issues that are often addressed in political cartoons and the impact they have on the public. At noon, the Mardigian Library Book Club will discuss "At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance - A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power" by Danielle McGuire in Room 1212, Mardigian Library. The film "Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin" will be shown and discussed at 7:30 p.m. in Room 1225, UC.
Students will come together at the University Center for a commemorative march organized by the Black Student Union at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 19. At 11:30 a.m. the UM-Dearborn Student Government will host a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by Student Government and the Office for Inclusion in Kochoff Hall. UM-Dearborn's Community Involvement and Volunteerism Center (The CIViC) will host an Open House at 3 p.m. in 1290 UC. The film, "The Calling" will be shown and discussed at 5 p.m. in Room 1225, UC.
Activities continue on Thursday, Jan. 20 with the Black History 101 Mobile Museum coming to campus. The Black History 101 Mobile Museum is an innovative grassroots-based project that exhibits 50-100 museum quality memorabilia on neighborhood streets to college campuses and anywhere in between. The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Kochoff Hall A. At noon UM-Dearborn's Women's Resource Center will presents its 5th annual Noon Day Observance in Kochoff Hall C, featuring UM-Dearborn alumnus Rev. Horace L. Sheffield III. The film, "A Village Called Versailles," will be shown and discussed at 5 p.m. in Room 1225, UC.
For more information, visit www.umd.umich.edu/mlk/ or call the Student Activities Office at 313-593-5390.
View photos from UM-Dearborn's MLK Day activities:
MLK Day on Facebook: Morning Kickoff Photo Album
