A King for many days: Symposium is U-M's 18th

Updated 11:00 AM January 10, 2005

A King for many days: Symposium is U-M's 18th

By Kevin Bergquist

It is a simple statement, but one that is more than 40 years—and counting—in its realization: " but we have not learned the simple art of living together "

Those 11 words spoken by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are the theme for the University's 2005 MLK Symposium. More than 50 events celebrating King's life began earlier this month and the symposium will peak with the annual MLK Day celebration Jan. 17.

Clinton administration secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros will deliver the MLK Memorial Lecture at 10 a.m. Jan. 17 in Hill Auditorium. Mystery writer Walter Mosley will give the closing lecture at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 in Rackham Auditorium.

The symposium marks U-M's 18th celebration of King's life and work.

"It is appropriate that Michigan's annual symposium constitutes one of the broadest and most incisive King Day celebrations in the United States," President Mary Sue Coleman wrote in the symposium program. "Diversity, in all its complex manifestations, is at the core of our academic community.

"Since its inception nearly 190 years ago, the University has stood as a beacon of diversity. Yes, being of the world, we have experienced the pains and shortcomings of our culture. Yet, through it all, U-M has provided leadership in many of this nation's major steps toward justice and equality."

A calendar of events provided by the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives is included on pages 14-18. Updates to the list can be found at http://www.mlksymposium.umich.edu.

The opening event today (Jan. 10) will feature U-M students performing a musical and dramatic tribute to King at 8 p.m. in the Michigan League's Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. The performances will depict a timeline of civil rights movements from the 1960s to the present.

Other events leading up to the Jan. 17 King holiday celebration:

• Latina writer Michele Serros will speak at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League. Serros will give a one-hour performance, which will include selected readings from her bestselling books and her experiences as a staff writer for the ABC sitcom "George Lopez."

• DJ Spooky will perform a remix of the controversial 1915 film "Birth of a Nation" at 8 p.m. Jan. 14 in the Power Center for the Performing Arts (see related story, DJ takes a new spin on old film with 'Rebirth of a Nation'>).

• Ronald K. Brown/Evidence will present five dance works over two nights at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 and 8 p.m. Jan. 17 in the Power Center. During the past 20 years, Brown has created a movement language that is all his own—modern dance influenced by fast-paced rhythmic movements of Africa.

MLK Day, Jan. 17

It won't be all kid's play Jan. 17 when the University celebrates MLK Day; but, an expanded array of children's activities will be offered 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Modern Languages Building.

Other MLK Day highlights:

• Cisneros will deliver the Memorial Lecture at 10 a.m. in Hill Auditorium. Chairman of American CityVista and City View—which are leading the movement to strengthen the nation one neighborhood at a time—he will discuss "Interwoven Destinies: America's Cities and the Nation's Future."

A calendar of events can be found at http://www.mlksymposium.umich.edu.

• Football will come off the field and into Rackham Auditorium at 12:30 p.m. Coach Herman Boone, whose story inspired the Disney film "Remember the Titans" starring Denzel Washington, will speak as part of the Business and Finance 17th annual MLK Convocation.

• Prior to his second performance, Brown will be interviewed as part of the "African Roots in American Modern Dance" symposium 1-4:30 p.m. in the Betty Pease Dance Studio.

• Ebony magazine's executive editor will take the podium at 1:30 p.m. Lerone Bennett Jr., who has served his post for almost 40 years, will speak in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business's Hale Auditorium.

• An afternoon of art, exploration and discussion with five formerly incarcerated men and women of the Prison Creative Arts Project's Linkage Project will commence at 2 p.m. in Room 126 of East Quadrangle with "The Art of Living Together: Re-entry After Prison."

Activities will continue after MLK Day:

• The Michigan League will host a screening of the film "Ray" at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 26 in the ballroom. Tickets are $3 for students; $4 for the general public.

• At 6 p.m. Jan. 31, the Urban Planning MLK Committee, Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning and the Urban & Regional Planning Department will present "Race: Space. Where Will Our Youth Go?"

• Mosley will bring the curtain down on the symposium at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 with the closing lecture "Bearing Witness" in Rackham Auditorium.

"The commemoration is a time to recall and contemplate the principles that Dr. King espoused, and an opportunity for the University and local communities to come together and celebrate the life and work of Dr. King and others who struggled, and continue to struggle, for social justice and equality," says Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs and senior counselor to the president for the arts, diversity and undergraduate affairs.

"Certainly we have accomplished much since the passing of Dr. King's great contributions; yet, much remains to be done in our own nation and throughout the world," he adds. "Only through our collective efforts will Dr. King's dream become a reality for all."

Two events—a symposium on "Race and Early Film" and a Women In Science and Engineering In Residence Program book reading—were held prior to this issue of the Record.

A King for many days: Symposium is U-M's 18th

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