Although Martin Luther King Jr. Day was nationally observed on Monday, the University will have events throughout the week recognizing the late civil rights leader’s contribution to society.
The Multicultural Center and the UO MLK Jr. Celebration Committee hosted a poetry reading Tuesday by writer and activist Amiri Baraka featuring a spoken word performance by youth artists from New York City as part of the ongoing Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration that began last week. Taking place in Lawrence Hall, the performance was part of larger celebration entitled “The Strength to Love,”an ongoing series of events commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of his birthday organized by the University’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity in partnership with the Service Learning Program.
“The Strength to Love” celebration began last week on Friday with the Ebony Man Showcase, an event put on by the Black Women of Achievement recognizing men of color on campus who have demonstrated academic excellence and are committed to community involvement, and will end with a keynote speech on Saturday by Angela Davis at the 8th Annual Women of Color Conference being held on campus.
Other upcoming events include a communications workshop, a candlelight vigil and open meeting sponsored by the Black Student Union, the UO MLK Jr. Award Ceremony and an MLK Jr. Skate Event being held at Skate World.
Amiri Baraka, who has authored more than 40 publications and is has been a subject of several documentaries, talked about the impact of Martin Luther King Jr. and read his poem, “The Match that Lit the Fire.”
Spoken word artists who performed in the event were Jay Davis, a 2010 Annual Knicks Poetry Slam Contest finalist, and Justin Long-Moton, New York City’s 2010-11 Youth Poet Laureate.
Long-Moton said he hoped students who hear his performances would feel inspired to research topics he touched upon and write poems of their own.
“If I get (students) to have some type of interest in what I’m saying and when they leave their touched, they’re still thinking about it, then I feel like I’ve done my job,” Long-Moton said.
The OIED booked Davis and Long-Moton after seeing them perform on “Brave New Voices,” a television show on HBO documenting the annual Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Festival that gives youth between the ages of 13 and 19 a chance to, according to its website, participate in “a celebration and demonstration of free speech, artistic empowerment and youth voice.” Davis and Long-Moton helped their team, Urban World NYC, win the Brave New Voices 2010 National Poetry Slam Team Championships.
Jason Rodriquez, co-chair of the UO MLK Jr. Celebration Committee, said he hopes the events will encourage students to examine their privilege and ask themselves what they can do to help others at school in their communities.
“That’s what social justice is all about: How can we all work toward a more just community? And how can we love one another to make that happen?” Rodriquez said.
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