The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith has scheduled a slate of community and educational events in January to celebrate legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Celebratory events are:
Jan. 17-27: Books and selected writings on King will be on display at the Boreham Library at UAFS, located at 813 N. Waldron Road.
Jan. 21: An MLK Breakfast, beginning at 7:30 a.m., is free and open to the public. The event will include a panel discussion of community leaders and activists who work to alleviate poverty, hunger and homelessness in the River Valley. Panelists include Charolette Tidwell, founder of Antioch for Youth and Family; Chris Joannides, executive director of the Riverview Hope Campus; Eddie Lee Herndon, president of United Way in Fort Smith; Julie Moncrief, director of marketing and development for the River Valley Regional Food Bank; and Ila Debose, assistant professor of social work at UAFS. Mayor-Elect George McGill will serve as moderator. For more information, contact Dr. Williams Yamkam at 479-788-7981 or Williams.yamkam@uafs.edu. The symbolic march normally scheduled during this event has been cancelled to allow attendees time to attend the MLK Day Parade in downtown Fort Smith.
Jan. 22: A public presentation titled “The MLK Community Association in Action” by Bruce Wade, president of the MLK Community Association. The event will take place at 11 a.m. at the fireplace of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center.
Jan. 23: A public lecture titled “Love and Action During Reconstruction” by Dr. Mike Crane, associate professor of history, will take place at noon at the fireplace of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center.
Jan. 24: A public presentation titled “The Food Bank in Action” by Julie W. Moncrief, director of marketing and development for River Valley Regional Food Bank, will take place at noon at the fireplace of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center.
Jan. 25: A public presentation titled “Keeping Hope Alive” by Chris Joannides, executive director of Riverview Hope Campus, will take place at noon at the fireplace of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center.
The events mark the eighth year UAFS has collaborated with the MLK Community Association to honor and celebrate King.
In October 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, slated this year for Jan. 16, was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.