NEWS

Cornel West to speak Jan. 21 during MLK Week at Carolina

BY L.J. TOLER
UNC-CH News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Dr. Cornel West, a professor of religion and a scholar in African-American studies at Princeton University, will deliver the keynote address during events at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Jan. 19-24 to mark the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

West specializes in "the area where religious thought, social theory and pragmatic philosophy meet," according to Princeton's Web site, which calls "The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism" (1989) his most influential scholarly work. The Washington Post said West "sees his lifework as an intellectual dialogue in the everyday language of regular folk."

The Boston Globe has called West a prominent cultural critic; The Washington Post noted "his speaking style evoking jazz improv and the riffs of the Baptist pulpit."

West is widely regarded as one of America's foremost scholars in Afro/African-American studies, said Dr. Archie Ervin, an assistant to the chancellor, UNC's minority affairs director and chair of the Chancellor’s Committee for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration.

West's speech will be at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 in the Hill Hall Auditorium. Those wishing to attend should pick up a free ticket (limit two per person) at the Carolina Union Box Office (962-1449, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Tickets will be available beginning Jan. 9.

Besides West's speech, the Jan. 21 program will include presentation of the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship: $1,000 to a Carolina junior whose activities demonstrate commitment to the humanitarian ideals King espoused. The scholarship program is expanding this year, said Ervin, adding $500 awards to each of two runners-up in the competition.

The expansion, expected to continue in years to come, was made possible by a gift of $1,000 from the local University/Community Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Corp., a group of local business, civic, religious and university representatives. The original $1,000 scholarship is funded by the university's Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund.

The weeklong celebration will begin with the university/community corporation's 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Morehead Building Banquet Hall. The banquet speaker will be the Rev. Michael B. Curry, 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, the first African-American to hold this elective post. For ticket information, call UNC's Office for Minority Affairs at 962-6962.

West wrote numerous scholarly books and articles in the mid-1990s, plus the 1993 best seller "Race Matters." Recently, he co-wrote two books on public policy issues: "The Future of American Progressivism" and "The War Against Parents." Last year he recorded a rap-like spoken word compact disc, "Sketches of My Culture," and he plans to record another CD.

He has appeared with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, supported rapper Sean Combs in court and advised former Sen. Bill Bradley's presidential campaign in 2000. He is an adviser to civil rights activist Al Sharpton, who recently announced his candidacy for president.

West spent eight years on the faculty at Harvard, where he built a doctoral program in Afro-American studies. Media reports called him a key figure in what was known as a dream team of Afro-American scholars assembled at Harvard by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.

West made national news last year when he left Harvard University for Princeton after a disagreement with Harvard President Lawrence Summers, which had provoked months of controversy.

West's UNC visit is sponsored by 11 UNC entities: the chancellor's MLK committee, the MLK Established Lectures Fund, the executive branch of student government, the Carolina Union Activities Board, the housing and residential education department, the National Pan Hellenic Council, the Black Student Movement, the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center, the Afro and African-American studies department and the offices of minority affairs and of the vice chancellor for student affairs.

The week’s other events at Carolina, mostly free and open to the public, are coordinated by the chancellor’s committee and sponsored by the committee and numerous campus groups. Dates, details, contacts for more information and the sponsors of each event follow:

• Jan. 20: University closed for Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday.
  
  
• Jan. 20, Youth Leadership Day, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Multipurpose Room, Frank Porter Graham Student Union: Middle school students, recruited through an Orange County mentoring network, will explore the idea of building a dream for the future and striving to achieve their dreams. They will plant flowers to visualize the seeds as their dreams and subsequently watch them grow. Some of the plants will be displayed in the union with the quilt assembled at Youth Leadership Day in 2002, which aimed to represent King's legacy. Contact Peju Fadiora at fadiora@email.unc.edu or 423-8955. For a form to register for the event, click to http://www.unc.edu/student/orgs/heels/. Co-sponsored by Carolina H.E.E.L.s and the UNC Student Stores.
  
  
• Jan. 20, "A Day for Service," 9 a.m. to early afternoon, beginning and ending in 100 Hamilton Hall. Congress designated the MLK holiday as a National Day of Service to honor King’s example. UNC students will perform service projects at various locations in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. For information, contact Mariam Tisdale at tisdale@email.unc.edu. Presented by Carolina R.O.C.T.S (Rejuventating Our Community Through Service), the Office of Minority Affairs and the Campus Y.
  
  
• Jan. 20, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest, 6 p.m., Multipurpose Room, Frank Porter Graham Student Union: Student speakers will consider that King urged Americans to give back to their communities, help the homeless, feed the hungry, attend to the sick and give to the needy. Their original monologues must focus on the questions "Chaos or community: How can Americans overcome apathy and disinterest and move toward change? How do we expose and defeat our inner conflicts and organize to challenge the status quo?" Then the presenters and the audience will discuss the state of black America today. Judges will select a winner and runner-up for cash prizes of $100 and $50. To register to speak or for more information, contact Kiron Terrell at 914-7013 or kterrell@email.unc.edu. Presented by the Carolina chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
  
  
• Jan. 21, MLK Candlelight Vigil and Procession, 6:30 p.m., stairs on the south side of South Building: Beginning of candlelight vigil and march to the West lecture in Hill Hall at 7:30 p.m., setting a tone of peace and unity. Two student dance groups, Vision and OPEYO! Modern, will perform. Contact Shannon Eaves at seaves@email.unc.edu. Presented by the Carolina chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
  
  
• Jan. 22, "A Show of Hands for Peace and Unity," noon to 12:30 p.m., Polk Place outside South Building, off Cameron Avenue across from the Old Well: Everyone is invited to join hands as a visual symbol of peace and unity, celebrating King's spirit and vision. Chancellor James Moeser will participate and speak at the event, which recognizes that next August will bring the 40th anniversary of King's "I Have A Dream" speech, given at the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of more than 250,000. Starting at about 12:20 p.m., participants may speak at an open mike about their experiences with peace and unity or about MLK week. Contact the Campus Y, 962-2333.
  
  
• Jan. 23, "Internalizing the Spirit of Dr. King: Social Change Through Non-violence in the 21st Century," 4 p.m., Toy Lounge, Dey Hall. Workshop participants will explore King's principles of non-violent social activism, focusing on how to apply these principles to interpersonal relationships and effect change. Contact Angela Crisp-Sears, angelacs@email.unc.edu or Kit Evans, evansak@email.unc.edu. Presented by UNC's Living With Compassion Initiative and The National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere.
  
  
• Jan. 23, "Awakening the Dream: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow," 7 p.m., Student Union Film Auditorium: Participants will discuss Jim Crow and race relations today, addressing the questions: "Is history repeating itself? What is the racial climate like on the UNC campus and elsewhere?" UNC faculty and staff will comment on their roles in improving the local community, attempting to gain insight for the future by exploring the past and the present. Contact Kristal Evans at darightmix@aol.com or D. Deone Powell at ddpowell@email.unc.edu. Presented by the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center.
  

• Jan. 24, "I, Too, Sing America," 7 p.m., Hill Hall Auditorium: Through song, dance and poetry, participants will explore the idea of maintaining through today's trying times. The program is named for a 1925 poem by Langston Hughes, which underscores the ownership and hope required of all Americans for realization of the American dream. Contact Adjoa Adofo, adadofo@email.unc.edu or Melody Rodgers, melodiva@email.unc.edu. Presented by the Black Student Movement.
  

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Contact: Archie Ervin, director, UNC-CH Minority Affairs Office, 919-962-6962
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, 919-962-2091