King Day inspires Day of Service volunteerism
For many at UofL, Martin Luther King Day is a “day on,” not a day off. An estimated 200 volunteers – students, faculty and staff – will spend the day working on projects at area nonprofits as part of the MLK Day of Service. The Office of Civic Engagement, Leadership and Service organizes the event.
Volunteers will work at such places as the Family Scholar House, The Center for Women & Families, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, the Food Literacy Project at Oxmoor Farms, Christian Care Communities and the Americana Community Center.
Volunteers will check-in at 10 a.m. in Bigelow Hall, Miller Information Technology Center. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and other guests will speak at 10:30 a.m., and volunteers will depart for their service locations at 11:30 a.m. Everyone should return to campus by 3 p.m.
Campus program to honor King’s example
A theatrical production, choral music, a keynote talk by a New York playwright-director and recognition of the Louisville Free Public Library’s Western Branch are on tap for a free, public program at 1 p.m. in the Playhouse. The venue is part of Freedom Park, which honors the history of civil rights in Louisville. It sits on Cardinal Boulevard between Second and Third streets.
Here are the highlights:
- Larry Owsley, vice president for business affairs, will present a service award to the Louisville Free Public Library’s Western Branch, the first U.S. public library for and staffed by African Americans. Longtime UofL staff member Jim Runyon, who died last year, also will be honored posthumously.
- Keynote address by playwright-director Talvin Wilks, who recently directed the Washington, D.C. production of “Anne & Emmett,” a play about an imagined conversation between the youths Anne Frank and Emmett Till
- A “Knowledge is Power” performance by UofL’s African American Theatre Program
- Music by the Black Diamond Choir
The Office of Business Affairs and the African American Theatre Program, a part of the university’s theatre arts department, sponsor the program. Parking is free in lots adjacent to the School of Music and College of Business.
UofL, Simmons College present ‘Education is King’ program
Simmons College of Kentucky and UofL will co-host the evening event “Education is King.” The 7 p.m. program will feature discussions by UofL President James Ramsey and Simmons President Kevin Cosby, also senior pastor of St. Stephen Church. UofL’s Cardinal Singers and the J.W. Tiggs Chorale will perform. The event at St. Stephen Church, 1018 S. 15th St., is free and public.
