DePaul University will honor the living legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., with a series of events on Jan. 18, including a theatrical re-enactment of King giving one of his key speeches.
Austin Talley, an alumnus of The Theatre School of DePaul, will portray King delivering his 1967 speech “A Time to Break Silence” which includes an interpretation of the biblical parable “The Jericho Road.” The speech also infuses elements of the teachings of St. Vincent de Paul and of the black protest tradition of activist and writer James Weldon Johnson. The re-enactment is staged during an African-American church service, complete with musical selections performed by DePaul’s Gospel Choir.
The performance will cap a 7:30 a.m. prayer breakfast, which also will include an address by distinguished educator Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel and professor of religion at Morehouse College. The breakfast will be held in the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Room 120, Chicago. The event is sponsored by DePaul’s Cultural Center and The Theatre School.
From noon until 2 p.m., the commemoration will continue in the atrium of the Student Center with the screening of the documentary “Citizen King,” an in-depth look at King’s life and legacy featuring interviews with many of those who worked with him.
At DePaul’s Loop Campus, the College of Law will host a luncheon lecture and discussion titled “Defining the Dream: Health Care as a Civil Right, Human Right or Market Commodity?” The program begins at 10:30 a.m. with a welcoming reception and cultural performance. At 10:50 a.m., Dorothy Roberts, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Northwestern University Law School and a professor in Northwestern’s African-American studies and sociology departments, will deliver a keynote address. Roberts is the author of numerous books and articles examining the interplay of gender, race and class in legal bioethics issues. The luncheon will begin at 11:45 a.m. followed by a panel discussion at 12:45 p.m. featuring professors Freeman Farrow of DePaul, Kimani Paul-Emile of Fordham University and Ruqaiijah Yearby of the University of Buffalo. The event will take place in the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, Chicago.
At 5:30 p.m. at the DePaul Student Center, Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr., International Chapel at Morehouse College, will give a lecture and present DePaul’s Egan Urban Center and Steans Center for Community-Based Learning with the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award in recognition of the centers’ work for social justice. The event will culminate with a peace march from the Student Center to Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St. where an exhibit is on display on how Gandhi, King and Ikeda (a Buddhist spiritual leader in Japan) have impacted the quest for peace and justice. The exhibit is free and open to the public Jan. 16 from 1 to 5 p.m. and Jan. 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Jan. 21, a panel discussion, “Increasing Innovation and Productivity by Building a Diverse Workforce,” will tackle how to build and retain a diverse workforce in the 21st century among other topics. A panel from higher education, industry and the community will address these issues from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the DePaul Center’s 8th floor conference center. This event is a collaborative initiative between the Diversity and Social Justice Committee of the School for New Learning. For more information, contact Shannon Stone-Winding at caea@depaul.edu or Ext. 312-362-6508.
