News Release

Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware Community to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday with ‘One Humanity!’ Events

December 22, 2008

Bishop Judith Craig

The 2009 celebration will begin with the 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day worship service at 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 18, at Asbury United Methodist Church, 55 W. Lincoln Ave.

This year’s worship service will feature youth programming to help Delaware’s youngest residents become more involved in learning about, celebrating, and emulating the King legacy, said Rosalind Scott, chair of the celebration committee.

“It is important for them to learn that the power of their convictions and commitment toward injustice and inequality can bring about change regardless of their age,” Scott said. “We hope to awaken and inspire coalition-building between racial and cultural groups promoting and embracing diversity and the realization that we are just ‘One Humanity!’ ”

During the Jan. 18 service, Delaware City Schools students will display original artworks depicting the theme of “One Humanity!” and students in Jayne Marcum’s third-grade class at Smith Elementary School will perform “Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In,” a reading theatre presentation.

Speakers at the worship service will include Bishop Judith Craig, bishop-in-residence and visiting professor of church leadership at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, along with Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship recipients Gabriel Shelton and his sister, Felicia Evans. Shelton was awarded Delaware’s first MLK Scholarship in 1999, while Evans earned the scholarship in 2001. Both will discuss how the scholarship and the pursuit of higher education have impacted their lives personally and professionally.

The Rev. Dr. Vergel L. Lattimore III

Lattimore is the Leon A. Beeghly Chair of Pastoral Care and director of the Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries program at the Delaware-based theological school. Individual breakfast tickets are $20, with eight-person table sponsorships available for $160. For reservations, contact Scott at (740) 368-3386. Reservations are requested by Jan. 5, but tickets also will be available at the door.

Additional “One Humanity!” observances on the Ohio Wesleyan campus will include the following events, coordinated by the President’s Commission on Racial and Cultural Diversity. Unless otherwise noted, all events will take place in Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. All events are free and open to the public.

Monday, Jan. 19:

• 9 a.m.-3 p.m. – Local shops will display and sell wares throughout the Atrium and lower-level of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center.
• Noon – Dale W. Larson, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics, will discuss the state of the economy and employment prospects for 2009 graduates, in Benes Room B.
• 6:30 p.m. – The Bravo-Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization will present “Shades of Discrimination,” addressing issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, in Benes Room B.

Tuesday, Jan. 20

• 10 a.m. – Community viewings of the Barack Obama presidential inauguration will be held simultaneously in the Crider Lounge of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center and in the Internet Café of Beeghly Library, 43 Rowland Ave.
• 6:30 p.m. – Emmanuel K. Twesigye, Ph.D., professor of religion and black world studies, will discuss “President Barack Obama and Dr. M.L. King’s Dream: Myth and Reality,” in Benes Room B.

Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009

• Noon – Judylyn S. Ryan, Ph.D., associate professor of English and black world studies, will discuss “Artist/Activist Voices of the Civil Rights Movement,” in Benes Room B.

Thursday, Jan. 22

• Noon – Minister Eric Marshall of Morning Star Tabernacle will discuss the responsibilities, privileges, and challenges of being male, in Benes Room B.
• 6:30 p.m. – Ohio Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff along with members of the Delaware community will present “Stars In Our Midst,” a program of vision, hope, and dreams incorporating music, dance, and other means of expressing diversity as well as “One Humanity!” in Benes Room B.

Program details are tentative and subject to change. For the latest Martin Luther King Jr. and “One Humanity!” events, including times and locations, visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Events page.

Ohio Wesleyan University is an undergraduate liberal arts college that transforms the lives of its students through a combination of rigorous academics, mentoring relationships, and real-world experiences. Featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” the private university’s 1,850 students come from 47 states and 50 countries. Visit www.owu.edu for more information.