Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Vanderbilt
University Commemoration January 12-15
Schedule of Events as follows:
Friday, January 12th
12:00 p.m., MLK Kickoff
Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. Come out and enjoy great soul food and fellowship as we officially kick off the MLK Commemoration. MLK Weekend of Action. For more info please link to https://www.vanderbilt.edu/oacs/mlkweekendofservice/
Monday, January 15th
10:00 a.m. Nashville Freedom March
Buses leave from The Ingram Commons at Murray Circle and Kirkland Circle. Lite Breakfast Refreshments will be provided at both sites.
Buses for the 2018 Freedom March arrive for pick up at 9:00 a.m. at Kirkland Circle (near the intersection of West End Ave. and Louise Ave.) and Murray Circle (near the intersection of 18th Ave. S. and Horton Ave.) in The Ingram Commons. The buses depart campus at 9:20 a.m. and transport students to the Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church near the intersection of Jefferson St. and 28th Avenue North. The March will start at 10:00 a.m., and will arrive at TSU’s Gentry Center at 12 noon. Immediately after the March, buses will be available from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the TSU’s Gentry Center to transport students back to campus.
11:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Nashville Freedom Ride
Leaving from Branscomb Circle. Nashville Freedom Rider Kwame Lillard will conduct a tour of significant sites in the civil rights movement in Nashville.
11:30-11:45 Students check in at Branscomb
12:00 p.m. Lunch at Swett’s Restaurant,
2725 Clifton Ave, Nashville
1:00-5:00 p.m. Tour by Kwame Lillard and
Sandra Brown
This is an RSVP event
(priority given to Vanderbilt students)
11:30 a.m. MLK Lunchtime Performances
with Melanated, Voices of Praise and Vanderbilt Spoken Word, Location: Sarratt Cinema
Box Lunches will be available outside of Sarratt Cinema for students, faculty and staff attending the Lunchtime Performances
Afternoon Teach-Ins
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Teach-In (A) Activism and Sports. When former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to protest racial inequality and police brutality during the pre-game playing of the National Anthem, he sparked an international conversation. He raised a series of questions, too. What is the historical relationship between activism and athletics? What role has the black athlete played in the black freedom struggle? How should we think about the relationship between sports and society? This session responds to all of these questions and more. Leader: Dr. Brandon Byrd Location: Sarratt Cinema
Teach-In (B) Self-Care is Community Care: Practices for Building Healing and Justice. Self-Care is Community Care: Practices for Building Healing and Justice In the age of social media, “wokeness” can feel like a relentless, impossible ideal one must “achieve” to feel worthwhile, let alone impactful. Together we’ll practice personal, communal, and embodied ways of centering healing as crucial to the work of racial justice and more. Leaders: Lyndsey Godwin and Rev. Shantell Hinton Location: Ingram Commons MPR 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Teach-In (C) Freedom of Expression without Suppression of Speech. We live in an age in which “free speech” has consequences. Speech is not free from stimulating opposition and rancor; and it certainly isn’t free from engendering division and debate. Indeed, the stakes are higher than ever, particularly on college campuses, during this age of divisiveness and activism. One goal of this teach-in is to examine the concept of “free speech” in the marketplace of ideas. Leaders: Dr. Frank Dobson and Carin Brown. Location: Sarratt Cinema
Teach-In (D) Injustice in the “It” City. Nashville is often deemed as one of the “it” cities in the nation, as it is home to country music, Opryland, celebrities, an array of colleges and universities, and a renowned show. However, behind the attractions and amenities are injustices that have helped Nashville to become a top city. This teach-in will explore these and other systems of oppression in Nashville and the on the ground work that is being done to eliminate these injustices. Leader: Briana Perry. Location: BCC Auditorium
MLK Keynote Address
Professor Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Langford Auditorium. Tickets are free and available through the Sarratt Cinema Box Office beginning December 1st. On January 15, remaining tickets will be available at the lobby of Langford Auditorium at 6:15 pm.
6:30 p.m. Welcome and Introduction by Associate Dean of Students, Dr. Frank E. Dobson, Jr.
For the most up-to-date information, Through Collective Action: Fighting Oppression without Suppression visit www.vanderbilt.edu/mlk.
