Western Carolina University’s Martin Luther King Jr. weeklong celebration will be highlighted this year with speaker Charisse Burden-Stelly’s keynote address “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Tradition of Radical Blackness.”
Burden-Stelly is a 2021-22 visiting scholar in the Race and Capitalism Project at the University of Chicago and an assistant professor of Africana studies and political science at Carleton College. She is a scholar of critical Black studies, political theory and intellectual history, and the co-author of “W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life in American History.”
Her published work appears in journals including Small Axe, Souls, Du Bois Review, Socialism & Democracy, International Journal of Africana Studies, Journal of Intersectionality and the CLR James Journal. Burden-Stelly’s public scholarship can be found in publications including Monthly Review, Boston Review, Black Perspectives and Black Agenda Report. Additionally, she is the co-host, with Layla Brown, of “The Last Dope Intellectual” podcast.
Other MLK events include:
Monday, Jan. 17 – The annual MLK Jr. Unity March will begin with poster making at 10 a.m. in the University Center’s multipurpose room, followed the by the annual march which will start at the fountain in the center of campus at 11 a.m.
The first of two service learning opportunities will take place, hosted by the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. Time and location TBD.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 – The College of Business is hosting “David Tutt Talk: The Economics of Dr. King and the 1965 Voting Rights Act” at 5 p.m. in the UC multipurpose room.
This talk will explore the economic thoughts of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the economics of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It will explore the economic power of voting in a democracy and its relationship to capitalism.
Wednesday, Jan. 19 – Intercultural Affairs will host a keynote workshop titled “Martin Luther King Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois Against U.S. Imperialism” at 10 a.m. in the UC multipurpose room.
The presentation of Student Leadership Awards, followed by the keynote address, will take place at 7 p.m. in Bardo Arts Center Performance Hall.
Thursday, Jan. 20 – David Walton, director of WCU’s Global Black Studies program, will lead a workshop on “Strategies for Classroom Diversity and Inclusion.” It will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the UC multipurpose room.
Friday, Jan. 21 – Intercultural Affairs will hold a meet and greet from 2:30 to 4 p.m. with artist Zeke Jennette, who won the Chancellor’s Award at the 53rd Annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition for his painting, Oshun. Intercultural Affairs will show an exhibition of Jennette’s work in their gallery throughout January and host a meet and greet vernissage with him on Jan. 21. Light refreshments will be served.
Students will hold a pair of workshops. The first will be at 4 p.m. called “What I’ve Been Told,” followed by “Joy as Resistance” at 5:30 p.m. Both will be held in the UC multipurpose room.
Saturday, Jan. 22 – The second of two service learning opportunities will take place, hosted by the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. Time and location TBD.
