|
Events planned in Sylva, Cullowhee to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and North Carolina Central University Chancellor James Ammons will be among the featured speakers at area events planned to honor the memory of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Bellamy, the first black mayor of Asheville will speak during an 8:30 a.m. prayer breakfast on Monday, Jan. 16, at the Golden Age Center in Sylva.
Cost for the event is $5 per person, with proceeds going to support the GAC and the Bridges to Community organization.
In addition to Bellamy’s address, the program will feature music from the Smoky Mountain High School show choir. The Rev. Charles Lee, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church, will offer a unity prayer, and “We Shall Overcome” will be sung as a benediction. Other participants will include the Rev. Dermita Wilder, pastor, Cullowhee AME Zion Church; and the Rev. Charlsie Sweat of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Waynesville.
Ammons
Ammons will speak Wednesday, Jan. 18, as part of a program sponsored by Western Carolina University’s Office of the Chancellor. The program, to begin at 7 p.m. in the Grandroom of Hinds University Center, is open to the public and free of charge. The event features musical selections by Western’s Inspirational Choir and will be followed by a reception.
A native of Winter Haven, Fla., Ammons graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida A&M University. The American Political Science Association awarded him a Minority Graduate Fellowship, and Ammons went on to Florida State University to earn a master’s degree in public administration and, at the age of 24, a doctorate in government. Before he became the chancellor at N.C. Central in 2001, he developed more than 22 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at Florida A&M as provost and vice president of academic affairs.
Other events organized by WCU and Bridges to Community as part of “In the Spirit of Unity and Service – Remember! Celebrate! Act!” include vigils, community service, a dramatic production of “My Soul Is a Witness,” and a visit from a co-producer of “Eyes On The Prize.”
• 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 – Town of Sylva unity march and candlelight vigil will begin in Sylva’s municipal parking lot on Main Street (former Ritz Theater location). After a march down Main Street to the Courthouse fountain, there will be a candlelight vigil followed by a reception and program in the Courthouse’s Kudzu Players’ theater.
The event will include a concert by the WCU Inspirational Choir and a forum consisting of speakers Jane Dunford, WCU Office of Minority Affairs; Stephanie McCormick, WCU assistant basketball coach; Mutt DeGraffenreid, SMHS athletic director; Larry Blythe, vice chief, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Perry Kelly, retired WCU professor; and Brian McMahan, chairman, Jackson County Commissioners.
Bridges’ President Mary Sue Casey willl host the event, and Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver will welcome those in attendance.
• 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 16 – Western’s Multicultural Center is coordinating a community service activity themed “A Day On, Not A Day Off” at the Community Table in Sylva.
• 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16 – Candlelight vigil and unity march begins at the University Center theater and ends at the Ramsey Center, where the Inspirational Choir will perform during halftime of the Lady Cats’ basketball game against Georgia Southern.
• 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 – Visiting art lecturer Marie T. Cochran will talk in Room 130 of the Fine and Performing Arts Center about artists’ representations of Martin Luther King Jr.
• 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 – “The Civil Rights Movement: Where It’s Been and Where It’s Going,” panel discussion and showing of film “King: From Montgomery to Memphis” will be held in the University Center theater.
• 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 – Civil rights leader Judy Richardson will speak in the University Center theater about her experiences on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and work on the film “Eyes on the Prize” as relevant to today’s struggles. The presentation is part of the Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series.
• 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 – A spoken word and poetry slam centered on reflections of the life and legacy of King will be held at the University Center.
• 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24 – A traveling troupe will perform the play “My Soul Is A Witness” at Western’s Fine and Performing Arts Center. The play, part of the Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series, vividly retells moments from assassinations to debates about non-violent protests. Admission is $7 for the general public, $5 for Western faculty and staff and $3 for Western students.
For more information, contact the Multicultural Center at (828) 227-2276. Western will be closed Monday, Jan. 16, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
|
