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HomeSpecial EventsBelmont University to Celebrate MLK Day with Week of Special Events

Belmont University to Celebrate MLK Day with Week of Special Events

In celebration of the Jan. 15 anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth date, Belmont University will be holding a week’s worth of events as part of the 15th annual series of Commemorative Programs. The university’s commitment to Martin Luther King Week through classroom and special events began in 1997 and continues to grow today.
Assistant Professor of Religion Dr. Andy Watts, chair of Belmont’s 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Committee, said, “In Dr. King’s 1956 address ‘Facing the Challenge of a New Age,’ he proclaimed the end and purpose of social justice work to be reconciliation, redemption and the creation of the beloved community. Belmont University is offering five events during its MLK Commemorative Celebration Week that seek imaging a shape for this beloved community.”
All of the events listed below are open to both the Belmont community and the general public at no charge unless otherwise noted. For additional information, visit Belmont’s MLK Web site at www.belmont.edu/mlk.


In addition to the on campus programs, Belmont, Vanderbilt and Tennessee State Universities will be collaborating on a Day of Service Sat., Jan. 15. Supported by a $1,000 grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service through the North Carolina Campus Compact, the MLK Day of Service Project will break down barriers, start what is planned to be an ongoing partnership and provide opportunity for agencies to recruit new volunteers. Click here for more information on the Day of Service.
Sun., Jan. 16, 6-8 p.m.
Creating Beloved Community: MLK Worship Service and Diversity Dialogue
Belmont students will lead a worship service, immediately followed by a discussion with a staff and student panel about racial and ethnic diversity on Belmont’s campus.
Massey Performing Arts Center
Mon., Jan. 17,7-9 p.m.
Creating Beloved Community: MLK Commemorative Candlelight Vigil
This is the 3rd Annual MLK Commemorative Candlelight Vigil. Each year we journey into the history of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, while celebrating his accomplishments and legacy and seeking personal relevance to our present day lives.
Massey Performing Arts Center
Wed., Jan. 19, 10 a.m.
The Empowerment Experiment: Supporting Black Business
In 2009, John and Maggie Anderson pledged to spend their money exclusively with African-American-owned businesses for one year, in essence to “buy black.” The Empowerment Experiment, as the couple termed their project, grew into a national awareness campaign about the need for increased entrepreneurship and conscious consumerism in underserved minority communities. Co-founder Maggie Anderson will share her organization’s belief that that living off black business is a wondrous sacrifice and has nothing to do with exclusion… it is about love, pride and intelligence.
Beaman A&B
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER:
Thurs., Jan. 20, 6-8 p.m.
Racial and Ethnic Diversity at Nashville’s Universities
A panel of professors from local universities will discuss the status and importance of racial and ethnic diversity in their respective communities of learning.
Multimedia Hall – Bunch Library 2nd Floor
Fri., Jan. 21, 10-11 a.m.
Multi-Culturalism and the Christian University: MLK Celebration Keynote Address
Dr. Soong-Chan Rah of Northpark Theological Seminary in Chicago will speak on cultural intelligence and multi-ethnicity for Christians.
Massey Performing Arts Center

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