Dr. Martin Luther King

Tag: Dr. Martin Luther King

“Those Who Have Been Left Out” focus of annual Fox Cities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. community celebration

Senegal native Aly Wane, an undocumented organizer living in Syracuse, N.Y., shares his message for the need to fight inequality in all its forms as the keynote speaker at the 27th annual Fox Cities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. community celebration.

Aly Wane
Organizer Aly Wane will deliver the keynote address at the 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King community celebration.

Focusing on the need for a better understanding of the concept of citizenship and global citizenship, Wane will deliver the address “Those Who Have Been Left Out.” The celebration commemorating Dr. King’s life and legacy will be held Monday, Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public and will include a sign language interpreter.

Two community members will be honored during the celebration with a reception immediately following the program in Shattuck Hall 163.

Wane’s message is inspired by a passage from a 1966 speech in which King said, “I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. I choose to live for those who find themselves seeing life as a long and desolate corridor with no exit sign. This is the way I’m going. If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means sacrificing, I’m going that way. If it means dying for them, I’m going that way, because I heard a voice saying, ‘Do something for others.’”

Wane, whose work is at the intersection of race and migration, is active with a variety of organizations, working with the Syracuse Peace Council, the country’s oldest grassroots antiwar group, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the Undocumented and Black Network and the Black Immigration Network.

In a 2017 interview with The Progressive, Wane spoke of the need to make the immigration conversation a racial justice conversation.

“When folks still think about undocumented folks, they still think about Latinos,” Wane told the magazine. “I don’t want to say ‘privilege’ that I have had, but I have had U.S. citizen Latino friends stopped by Border Patrol and ICE and I have been able to get away with it because I don’t look Latino. Of course, I am black and therefore I am always getting stopped by cops anyway. But, I think that it would be a lie to have an analysis of the immigration system that doesn’t speak very directly about the influence of race in this country.”

Pa Lee Moua
Pa Lee Moua

Pa Lee Moua, associate dean of students for diversity at Lawrence, said the theme of this year’s community celebration, “Those Who Have Been Left Out,” struck a personal chord with her.

“As a refugee child, adapting to another world was extremely hard — hard on my family, myself and my outlook on the future,” said Moua, a member of the MLK celebration planning committee. “As much as I wanted to adapt, I did not want to change who I was in order to be accepted by others. No one should judge another person, assumptions create exclusions. When you choose to exclude others, you create additional unnecessary barriers and burdens for them to carry, sometimes for a lifetime. Therefore, before you act, think about your actions. The smallest act of kindness goes a long way.  As Dr. King once said, ‘I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.’”

Wane, 41, who considers himself a global citizen, is the son of a Muslim father from Senegal and a Catholic mother from Mali, who met each other while studying in France. They separated when Wane was young and his father passed away at the age of 38. He came to the United States when he was almost nine with his mother after she landed a position with the United Nations Development Program.

He’s lived in Rwanda and Gabon with his mother who was on assignments there before he returned to the U.S. when he was 13. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2001 from Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

His older sister and only living relative, who was able to obtain H-1B status through her work, established permanent residency and eventual citizenship, is sponsoring Wane for legalization, a process that could take 10 years.

Yee Lee Vue, the adult services engagement librarian at the Appleton Public Library, will be recognized as the 24th recipient of the Jane LaChapelle McCarty Community Leader Award.

Maysa Pasayes, manager, Scholars for Success program, Diversity and Inclusion Services at Fox Valley Technical College, will be presented the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Educator Award.

The celebration also will feature student winners of the annual MLK essay contest reading their entries. This year’s winning student essayists are:

• Portia Hah, 3rd grade, Woodland Elementary School

• Kate Jannette, 4th grade, St. Francis Xavier Elementary School

• La Lee Yang, 8th grade, James Madison Middle School

The celebration will include a music performances by Anthony Gonzalez, B-Lilly and the Soul Brothers and university organist Kathrine Handford.

Martin Luther Kind DAy of Service logoPrior to the evening celebration, members of the Lawrence community will make the MLK holiday a day of service by participating in a variety of volunteer activities throughout the Fox Cities, including sorting and tagging items at Appleton’s Bethesda Thrift Store, providing arts programming with students at the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley, packaging, labeling, sorting at the Feeding America food bank and weeding, planting and prepping beds in hoop houses at Riverview Gardens.

In addition to the off-campus efforts, student spend part of the day involved with on-campus service projects including baking treats for local shelters,
making blankets for community members without housing, writing letters of encouragement to patients going through chemotherapy, creating dog toys and treats for animals at local shelters and making laundry detergent for a local shelter.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

A day “on”: Lawrentians honor MLK legacy through reflection, community service

While the annual holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a day off from work or school for many, more than 250 Lawrence University students, faculty, staff and local alumni will make it “a day on.”

A photo of Lawrence University student packing up a box to send to Feeding American in Eastern Wisconsin.As a prelude to the Jan. 16 annual Fox Cities community celebration of the life of the civil and human rights leader, which Lawrence will host in the Memorial Chapel beginning at 6:30 p.m., Lawrentians will spend part of the day engaged in community service.

Since 2008, Lawrence has honored King’s legacy by providing volunteers to area nonprofit organizations. This year Lawrence volunteers will spend part of the King holiday providing their time and talents to 11 local nonprofit organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley, Riverview Gardens, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Homeless Connections and the Bethesda Thrift Shop on a variety of activities, including a new reading initiative for K-6 students at Appleton’s Edison Elementary School.

Prior to the volunteer activities, Lawrence will conduct a Read & Reflect event the morning of Jan. 16 in the Warch Campus Center. The action-based discussion will focus on Marc Lamont Hill’s book “Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond.” It will include the sharing of personal experiences of feeling like a “nobody” and action individuals and the campus as a whole can take to better support society’s  most vulnerable members.

A photo of Lawrence University students volunteer on MLK's Day.

Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts will deliver the keynote address — “On the Fierce Urgency of Now” — at the Fox Cities’ 26th Martin Luther King community celebration.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.”  Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Pulitzer Prize-winner headlines annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration; Lawrence professor to receive community award

Award-winning newspaper columnist and author Leonard Pitts believes the concept of “now” is as urgent as it has been in many years.

A photo of award-winning newspaper columnist and author Leonard Pitts.
Leonard Pitts

Pitts, who writes a nationally syndicated column for the Miami Herald, will deliver the keynote address Monday, Jan. 16 at the 26th annual Fox Cities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. community celebration at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Two community awards will be presented as part of the celebration, including an educator award that will go to Lawrence University faculty member Amy Ongiri.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Refusing to be a Bystander to Racism and Injustice.” The event, which will include a sign language interpreter, is free and open to the public. A reception will immediately follow in Shattuck Hall 163.

The annual commemoration of Dr. King’s life and legacy is jointly presented by Lawrence University and Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities, with the support of numerous Fox Valley organizations, churches and individuals.

Inspired by a passage in King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, in which he warned against “the tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” Pitts presents “On the Fierce Urgency of Now.”

King urged people not to be patient or wait for change to happen. Pitts believes that message needs to be reinforced because too many have “forgotten the fierce urgency of now, neglected to keep the pedal to the metal where human rights are concerned,” eroding much of the progress made in the post-civil rights era. In light of events of the past year, particularly the outcome of the national election, Pitts will make the case for the urgency of “now.”

During his 40-year career, Pitts has been recognized numerous times for literary excellence, including a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. His popular twice-a-week column appears in dozens of newspapers around the country. The National Association of Black Journalists have honored Pitts with its annual Award of Excellence three times and named him its Journalist of the Year in 2008.

He is a seven-time recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Award and has been the recipient of the Atlantic City Press Club’s National Headliners Award five times.

In addition to his column, Pitts has written five critically acclaimed books, including 2015’s “Grant Park,” a provocative look at black and white relations in contemporary America.

Pitts, who resides in Bowie, Md., earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Southern California at the age of 19 after starting college as a 15-year old on a special honors program.

With a celebration theme focused on refusing to be a bystander to racism and injustice, Kathy Flores, chair of the MLK Planning Committee, says Pitts is the perfect keynote speaker.

“I can’t wait to hear Leonard Pitts’ address because so much of his writing has examined this very topic,” said Flores. “He is a shining example of someone in the media who stands up against racism and injustice in every word he writes. His passion and authenticity for justice makes him a powerful writer and speaker.”

A Head shot of Lawrence University Jill Beck Director of Film Studies and associate professor of film studies Amy Ongiri.
Amy Ongiri

As part of the community celebration, Ongiri will receive the third MLK Educator Award and Sarah Long-Radloff will be recognized as the 23rd recipient of the Jane LaChapelle McCarty Community Leader Award.

Ongiri joined the Lawrence faculty in 2014 as the Jill Beck Director of Film Studies and associate professor of film studies. She since has established herself as a fighter for social justice and a passionate advocate for all marginalized people.

With scholarship focused on diversity and multiculturalism, Ongiri has developed classes in which students engage intensely with issues of race, class, ability, ethnicity, body size, gender, sexuality and other categories of social hierarchy while challenging students to examine their unconscious biases.

As a role model of social justice activism, Ongiri serves as a faculty mentor for several Lawrence diversity and social justice student organizations, among them Alianza and the Men of Color Alliance. Her impact on students has been described as “profound.”

Her engagement extends beyond the campus, leading presentations on issues of diversity for local companies. As a strong believer that queer women of color be visible, she volunteers frequently as a DJ at local events, including the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration, and coaches basketball on Saturday mornings at the YMCA.

A Head shot of Fox Cities resident Sarah Long-Radloff.
Sarah Long-Radloff

Long-Radloff, a Fox Cities resident for more than 40 years, has been engaged in community outreach since she arrived, acting on her mission of providing a majority-white community with a positive African American experience.

She is active in the Appleton Kiwanis Club, earning the organization’s George F. Hixson Fellowship Award in 2016.  Serving some of the community’s most vulnerable or at-risk citizens, she volunteers at Harbor House, the Emergency Shelter/Homeless Connections and at the state prison in Waupun.

During a career at Kimberly-Clark Corp., Long-Radloff was involved with several diversity initiatives and helped train upper management, both locally and nationally, in support of the company’s efforts to create a more diverse work force.

The celebration also will feature student winners of the annual MLK essay contest, who will read their entries. This year’s winning student essayists are:

• Caroline Basehoar, 3rd grade, St. Francis Xavier Elementary School, Appleton
• Eli Skrypczak, 4th grade, Foster Elementary School, Appleton
• Kala Lones, 9th grade, Appleton North High School
• Milly Figueroa, 11th grade, Appleton North High School

The celebration will include a spoken word performance by members of Lawrence’s Slam Poetry Club and music by Anthony Gonzalez, B-Lilly, Mauranda Owens, Mike Pope and Paris Wicker.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.”  Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence hosts 25th annual community celebration of MLK’s life, legacy

Although Lawrence University classes won’t be held Jan. 18 on the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., more than 300 students will make it “a day on, not a day off” by engaging in 18 community service projects.

MLK-Day_service_neewsblog-2016
Lawrence students have embraced the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a day of community engagement and service.

Lawrentians will spend part of their day volunteering their time and talents on activities ranging from painting a rock climbing wall at Appleton’s Edison Elementary School to leading interactive projects that incorporate themes of equality, advocacy and the civil rights movement at the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley.

Highlighting the day will be the community celebration of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The annual commemoration of King’s life and legacy is jointly presented by Lawrence University and the community organization Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities, with the support of The Post-Crescent, numerous Fox Valley organizations, churches and individuals.

Stansbury Theatre in the adjacent Music-Drama Center will be equipped with a video screen to accommodate overflow crowd should the Chapel reach capacity. The event is free and open to the public and a sign language interpreter will be present.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Breaking the Chains of Injustice.” Social justice icon, scholar and author Dr. Angela Davis will deliver the event’s keynote address.

Dr.-Angela-Davis_web
Dr. Angela Davis

As a student, writer, scholar and activist/organizer, Davis has devoted much of her life to social justice movements domestically and internationally. Most recently, the Birmingham, Ala., native has focused largely on social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination.

“I am looking forward to hearing Dr. Davis’ call to action for our community at the annual celebration,” said Kathy Flores, the diversity coordinator for the City of Appleton and chairperson of the MLK planning committee. “Many people forget what a radical Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was considered in his time on this earth. I am confident that Dr. Davis will inspire and challenge us to remember and embrace the true legacy of Dr. King.”

In 1970, Davis was placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.” She spent 18 months in jail and on trial before being acquitted by a jury. Davis has drawn on those experiences as an author of 10 books, including 2005’s “Abolition Democracy” and 2003’s “Are Prisons Obsolete?” in which she argues for “decarceration.”

Her just released book, “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine and the Foundations of a Movement,” is a collection of essays, speeches and interviews highlighting the relationships among historical and contemporary state violence and oppression in the world. It will be used as the next installment in the Fox Cities’ Books Build Community series.

Davis, who studied at Brandeis University and the Sobornne in Paris, has spent the past 15 years at the University of California, Santa Cruz where she is Distinguished Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and of Feminist Studies.

Her career as an educator and scholar has seen Davis teach at San Francisco State University, Mills College, University of California Berkeley, Vassar College and Stanford University, among others.

“I am confident that Dr. Davis will inspire and challenge us to remember and embrace the true legacy of Dr. King.”
— Kathy Flores, Appleton diversity coordinator

The community celebration also will recognize Tony Awofeso with the annual Jane LaChapelle McCarty Community Leader Award and Ben Vogel with the MLK Educator Award.

A former Outagamie County Board Supervisor, Awofeso is the current president of B.A.B.E.S., Inc., a child abuse prevention program, and former chair of the organization Towards Community: Unity In Diversity (the precursor to Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities). He co-founded African Heritage, Inc. and has served on the boards of the North East Wisconsin Fair Housing Council and CAP Services.

Vogel is the assistant superintendent of school/student services for the Appleton Area School District. He has been an advocate on social injustice issues pervading the school and community cultures with a focus on closing the opportunity gap between African American K-12 and white K-12 students.

Four local students winners of the annual MLK essay contest — Eliana Brenn, Sydni Wanty, Ndemazea Fonkem and Michayla Kading — will read their winning entries as part of the celebration.

The celebration will include music by Anthony Gonzalez, Lawrence student B-Lilly, members of the Lawrence Black Student Union and a spoken word performance by members of Lawrence’s Slam Poetry Club.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.