Iowa State University events will honor Martin Luther King Jr. beginning Jan. 13

Posted Jan 11, 2010

AMES, Iowa -- A carillon concert, community and campus programs, and three prominent speakers are among Iowa State University's activities to honor the life of Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. The events, which begin Jan. 13 and conclude Feb. 8, are free and open to the public.

As part of her daily carillon concert from the campanile, carilloneur Tin-Shi Tam will perform a tribute to King at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13. "Let Freedom Ring" will feature hymns, spirituals and inspirational arrangements. The 20-minute concert will be webcast live at http://www.music.iastate.edu/feeds/carillon/.

A community celebration is planned for the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday on Monday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Ames Middle School, 3915 Mortensen Road. Songs, stories and cake are part of the collaborative King birthday festivities, highlighted by ISU alumnus Paxton Williams' performance as George Washington Carver.

The annual campus celebration of King's birthday will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, January 21 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Speakers include retired ISU faculty member Lenola Allen-Sommerville, Government of the Student Body (GSB) President Jonathan Turk and Black Student Alliance President Bryan Woodson. The event will also feature a musical performance by Gospel Soul Innovators, and recognition of the Advancing One Community award winners. Birthday cake will be served.

An architect, a filmmaker and a commentator speak

R. Steven Lewis, president of the National Organization of Minority Architects, will present "Who Will Tell the Story? The Black Architects' Epic Journey Toward Equal Opportunity" at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25 in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Lewis will describe the contributions of black architects to design, architecture, building technology and construction, and will highlight their struggle for recognition and representation.
Lewis co-founded the Los Angeles-based RAW Architecture in 1984 and was with the firm for 20 years. In 2004, he joined the U.S. General Services Administration's Office of the Chief Architect, where for four years he worked on the Design Excellence Program. He recently joined the Pasadena office of the engineering and construction company Parsons Corp. In 2006, Lewis was named a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University, where his topic of study was race and the profession of architecture.

Lewis' visit is co-sponsored by theCollege of Design, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Planning Committee and Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the GSB.

"Trauma, Reconciliation and Forgiveness after the Rwandan Genocide" is the title of documentary filmmaker Patrick Mureithi's talk at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26 in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Mureithi, who traveled to Rwanda to film a gathering of 10 survivors and 10 perpetrators of the 1994 genocide, will show a 45-minute version of the documentary, "ICYIZERE: Hope," and lead a discussion after the screening.

The film documents the experience of the participants as they are taught about post-traumatic stress disorder and go through a series of group exercises to help build trust. The documentary also explores how the media was used to incite fear, hatred and ultimately, genocide, and Mureithi's belief that media can similarly be used to unite and heal.

A filmmaker from Kenya, Mureithi is a dual artist-in-residence at Drury University and Missouri State University, both in Springfield, Mo. His presentation is cosponsored by African American Studies, Center for American Intercultural Studies, Center for the Study of Violence, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Human Sciences, International Studies Program, LAS International Programs, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Planning Committee, Department of Psychology, Service Learning Program in Rwanda, Student Union Board Multicultural Program, World Affairs and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by GSB.

"ICYIZERE: Hope" will be shown in its entirety at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 21 in the Great Hall.

The third featured speaker in the Martin Luther King Jr. series is journalist, social activist and political commentator Jeff Johnson. He will speak on "Unclaimed Legacy: Who Will Lead?" at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8 in the Memorial Union Great Hall.

Originally known as "Cousin Jeff," Johnson has earned a reputation as the "conscience voice" of BET networks. He is committed to fostering broad-based communication about issues related to race, politics, pop culture and socioeconomics. Johnson's new book, "Everything I'm Not Made Me Everything I Am," is a call to service for the post-Civil Rights generation.

Johnson has worked as a senior advisor for media and youth outreach for People for the American Way, national director of the Youth and College Division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and as the vice president of Russell Simmons' Hip Hop Summit Action Network.

Johnson's talk is cosponsored by the Black Graduate Student Association, Black Student Alliance, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Planning Committee and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by GSB.