MLK/Black History Month 2020

Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month
January 20 – February 26, 2020

"Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

EVENTS (Open to the Community unless otherwise noted.)

Monday, January 20

Ecumenical Prayer Service
12:00 p.m./Mercy Hall, University Chapel

Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Dinner for MU Students and Faculty
5:00 p.m./Insalaco Hall, Rooms 218 & 219

An evening of food and discussion in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Limited spots are available.To RSVP, please visit this link.

Thursday, January 30

Panel Discussion: Ethical Issues in the Media
6:00 p.m./Insalaco Hall, Rooms 218 & 219

The panel discussion will be on ethical issues which emerge from the content and manner in which information is communicated through the various media. There will be a particular focus on the November 2020 elections and all the campaign commercials to which the public have been and will be exposed. Sponsored by NE PA Ethics Institute at Misericordia University.

Tuesday, February 4 & Wednesday, February 5

Paint by the Numbers for MU Community
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m./Banks Student Life Center, Lobby

Celebrate Black History Month through a paint by the numbers activity paying homage to influential Black figures.

Thursday, February 6

Play: White Rabbit Red Rabbit
7:30 p.m. Showing: Alicia Nordstrom, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Insalaco Hall, Rooms 218 & 219

What happens when you are not allowed to leave your own country?  Find out in this unique immersive production with no director, no set, and the actor is given the script five minutes before the show starts.  Reservations are available online at this link or at the door.

Friday, February 7

Play: White Rabbit Red Rabbit
12:00 p.m. Showing: Scott Woolnough, Alternative Learning Program Coordinator

7:30 p.m. Showing: Jahmeel Powers, a local professional actor
Insalaco Hall, Rooms 218 & 219

What happens when you are not allowed to leave your own country?  Find out in this unique immersive production with no director, no set, and the actor is given the script five minutes before the show starts.  Reservations are available online at this link or at the door.​

Tuesday, February 11

Film: I Am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck, 2016)
6:00 p.m./Walsh Hall, Lemmond Theater

Introduction and discussion by Dr. Ryan Watson, Assistant Professor of Film and Visual Media.

Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished about the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday, February 17

Mass Incarceration: Reflections from the Classroom at Dallas State Correctional Institution
12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m./Mercy Hall, Room 347

A panel discussion led by Dr. Glenn Willis and students regarding their experiences in prison education.

Wednesday, February 19

Black History Month Poetry Reading for MU Community
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m./Bevevino Library, McGowan Room

Join us in celebrating the contributions Black poets have made to literary culture at our annual Black History Month Poetry Reading.

Friday, February 21

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom for MU Students
7:00 p.m./Kirby Center

A musical filled with traditional and original Gospel and Freedom songs, tells the moving, true story of Lynda Blackmon, the youngest person to walk all the way from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on the Voting Rights March of 1965. Limited spots available, transportation provided if indicated. Registration can be accessed at this link and a $5 refundable deposit is required to secure your spot. Deposits can be submitted to Linh Nguyen during office hours (Banks 128). Email Linh with any questions.

Monday, February 24

Black Space: Picturing Blackness in the 19th and 20th Centuries​
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m./Bevevino Library, McGowan Room

This panel addresses representations of blackness in U.S. culture, from the 1820s through the late twentieth century.  It explores the extremely uneven power relations embedded in early images of free African Americans, and traces black efforts to confront, engage, and undermine racist stereotypes as time passed by such artists as Lorna Simpson, Adrian Piper, Suzanne Jackson, and Linda Goode Bryant. Presenters: Jennifer Black, Kara Carmack, Rich Hancuff, and Laine Little​

Wednesday, February 26

Asylum Seeker Simulation for MU Students
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m./Anderson Center, Gymnasium

Students will have an opportunity to walk through a 20-minute simulation to experience what it is like for an asylum seeker who comes to the U.S. border from Central America.