UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Celebration, hosted by Penn State’s Forum on Black Affairs, will be held virtually on Friday, Jan. 15, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., via Zoom.
Traditionally, FOBA brings together thousands of Penn State community members to commemorate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
“This year, due to the global pandemic, we will not be able to gather in person, so we have partnered with our colleagues from Penn State World Campus Student Affairs to virtually commemorate Dr. King’s legacy,” said FOBA President Andre Culbreath. “We look forward to seeing you at this special occasion in honor of Dr. King.”
This year’s theme is “Project 1972: A Conversation with Our Elders,” a virtual panel discussion including Penn State staff and faculty who worked at the University in the height of the Civil Rights movement and members of the University’s class of 1972, who were first-year students in 1968 — the year that King was assassinated.
“Join us for a conversation with this dynamic generation who are the true subject-matter experts on issues of racial equity, social justice, and the impact of Dr. King’s legacy,” said Associate Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Advocacy Denita Wright Watson, Penn State World Campus. “We revere this opportunity and privilege to gather at the feet of our elders to view the world from their lens and to learn from their life experience. We will discuss their view of the current social justice resurgence, how it compares to what they witnessed in the 1960s and 1970s, what it was it like to be at Penn State during that time, and what, if anything, has changed.”
The event will also include performances from Jeffrey Lampkin and the Francis Marion University YGB Choir, and the announcement of the Fannie Lou Hamer – W.E.B. DuBois Service Scholarship award recipient.
The event will be shared on Zoom at this link.
For more information contact Andre Culbreath, alc34@psu.edu; Denita Wright Watson, drw115@psu.edu, or Stephanie Danette Preston, FOBA immediate past president, sdp163@psu.edu.