As part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday celebration, UF is planning several events over the next week to commemorate the achievements of the civil rights activist.
The King Celebration '08 Kickoff Program, featuring Dr. DeForest Soaries, is being held at St. Augustine Church on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., and will be followed by a variety of events held Jan. 15-22.
"This is the first year the university has come together to do a coordinated event," said Anthony Crenshaw, director of the Institute of Black Culture. "We thought it would be significant to come together to look at Dr. King and at issues that move beyond race."
The Black Graduate Student Organization, the Center for Leadership and Service, Accent and the Campus Ministry Cooperative mark only a few of the campus organizations that are involved.
On Wednesday, a Food for the Soul Lunch Series will be held at the Institute of Black Culture from 11:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. and will examine an episode of the cartoon TV series "The Boondocks." The luncheon will be an open forum and focus on whether people are judged by the content of their character, Crenshaw said.
A Community Building and Activism Workshop will also be held at the Institute of Black Culture on Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The interactive workshop will feature several panelists discussing issues of race, gender and culture, and is for anyone interested in community building, said Angelique Nixon, co-chair of Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration '08.
On Thursday, the film "After Innocence" will be shown at the Levin College of Law at 6 p.m., followed by a discussion of the death penalty moratorium.
"Martin Luther King Jr. is a personification for civil rights struggles," said Jonathan Blocker, president of the Black Law Student Association. "It is appropriate that we honor his memory by examining contemporary civil rights struggles."
Some students from Duval Elementary will exhibit their artwork in the Reitz Union Gallery from Jan. 20-25.
The Black Graduate Student Organization is proud to be displaying the works of various area students, Nixon said.
One of the highpoints of the week will be the 22nd-annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Celebration, featuring a speech by author and National Public Radio correspondent Farai Chideya. The event will take place on Sunday in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
The dinner portion of the celebration will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets cost ,20 to ,25 and can be purchased at the Institute of Black Culture until 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Chideya's speech will begin at 6:45 p.m. and will be free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the speech. A march will assemble in the Downtown Community Plaza on Monday, Jan. 21 at 11 a.m., sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Florida, Inc.
"It is our responsibility to continue the movement toward social responsibility and the civil rights he championed," said Blocker, president of Black Law Student Association.
Dr. King's celebration will culminate in a campus-wide candlelight vigil to be held Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 6 p.m. in the Reitz Union Amphitheater. Students will be reading excerpts from Dr. King's speeches. The event was designed to get students to think about social injustices, said Crenshaw, director of the Institute of Black Culture.
"The goal is to embody the mission of Dr. King," he said.
