Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote speaker Barbara Savage at the podium in the Olin Concert Hall.

“Can we keep the faith when our dreams are imperfectly realized? I hope that we can.”

Monday was an especially fitting day for this question posed by historian Barbara Savage as she concluded her keynote speech for Bates’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances. The unifying theme for this year’s day of special programs was “Faith and Ethics in the Public Sphere: What is the Dream?” Savage’s address looked hard at a dream that Benjamin Mays ’20, the theologian, mentor to King and civil rights leader, had all his life: that the church could model integration for U.S. society at large.

Mays’ dream was not realized, leading to Savage’s expression of hope for faith’s power of endurance. That sentiment would resonate under any circumstances, but on this snowy Monday at Bates, where everyone was sobered by the tragedy of the Haitian earthquake, Savage’s closing was especially poignant.

Haiti, in fact, claimed an unbilled spot on the keynote presentation agenda, which was attended by about 200 people in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall and opened by music from the Bates Jazz Band. Sophomore Eric Mathieu, who lives in New York state but has relatives in Haiti, made an appeal for disaster relief funds

• Read student impressions of King Day programming at Bates.
• See a multimedia presentation about Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2010 at Bates:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Amandla! sponsored the workshop “21st-Century African American Leadership.”

Savage, a historian and the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke after remarks by Bates President Elaine Tuttle Hansen and Dean of the Faculty Jill Reich. Titled “Benjamin Mays and the Politics of Black Religion in the Age of Desegregation,” Savage’s address used Mays to illustrate some of the historic forces that helped shape, and constrain, the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century.

Inspired, in part, by extensive travels abroad, Mays believed that a racially integrated American Christian church could point the way to integration in the political and social spheres as well. Savage showed how Mays’ encounters with theologians and philosophers outside the U.S. — Gandhi, Muslim critics of Christianity, the would-be utopians of the 1937 Oxford Conference — shaped and annealed this ideal.

As a Southern, black, religious liberal, Savage explained, Mays had a complex case of the kind of “multiple consciousness” developed by people who live in worlds that do not overlap. “Perhaps the advantage of a multiple consciousness is a learned aptitude for abiding with irreconcilable contradictions,” she noted.

So even as Mays witnessed and advocated for a worldwide religious movement for social justice and racial integration, he understood that churches in the United States — which above all express the attitudes of their parishioners, both black and white — might stubbornly choose to remain segregated.

“He argued that Christianity ought to be color-blind and desegregated,” Savage said, “while at the same time he adhered to a belief in the political necessity of black-controlled institutions, especially churches and colleges.”

Ultimately, the contradictions prevailed. If the 1960s offered “a glimpse of the possibility of realization” of Mays’ dreams and ideals, Savage said, the last years of his life were marked mostly with personal disappointment and disillusionment about the goal of integration, especially in terms of black cultural and political identity. The trouble with integration, he told one audience, is that “it always moved from black to white and never from white to black.”

Citing Martin Luther King’s observation that among churchgoing Americans, 11 o’clock Sunday morning remains the “most segregated hour in this nation,” Savage noted that the ” ‘race church’ remains a fact of American life” and Mays’ “search for a progressive politics of religious globalism remains as elusive as during his long life.”

So if Mays’ adherence to these ideals represents a particularly American optimism, a faith in democracy and progress, as Savage suggested, this chapter of Mays’ story is nevertheless more of a cautionary tale.

As she said in her conclusion, “All of this is evidence of the necessity to shift and rethink our own dreams and our own ideas, and to realize that dreams are often incompletely and imperfectly realized.”

An expert in African American political and religious history gives the Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote address at Bates at 10:45 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

The college traditionally cancels classes and offers special programming for King Day. This year’s theme is Faith and Ethics in the Public Sphere: What is the Dream?

Events are open to the public at no cost. For a complete schedule and list of all workshops or to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates, please visit the Web site or call 207-786-6400.

Barbara Savage, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Thought at the University of Pennsylvania, offers both Monday’s keynote and, the evening before, a sermon for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial Service of Worship. The service is held at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, in the College Chapel. Sponsored by the Multifaith Chaplaincy, the event features music by Bates students and a reception at 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact 207-786-8272.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Students from Morehouse, King’s alma mater, have long been a part of the Bates King Day observances. Benjamin Mays, a 1920 Bates graduate and debater, was a longtime Morehouse president and lifelong adviser to King.

Mays is the topic of Savage’s keynote address, titled Benjamin Mays and the Politics of Black Religion in the Age of Desegregation. He was an ordained Baptist minister and one of the most outspoken critics of segregation during the civil rights movement. His belief in the fundamental dignity of all human beings drove both his religious and political philosophies. Savage will address Mays’ religious history and lessons he imparted to future generations.

Beginning at 1:20 p.m. and continuing throughout the afternoon in four concurrent sessions per time slot (times and rooms TBA), students, staff, guests and faculty will lead readings, presentations and discussions reflecting the King Day theme in Pettengill Hall, 4 Andrews Road (Alumni Walk). See a complete list of workshops.

Workshops include Somethin’ Sanctified: How Church Music Influenced Jazz, sponsored by Ladd Library and the program in classical and medieval studies; Thinking about “Good Hair,” which will use comedian Chris Rock’s recent documentary about African American hair culture as a basis for discussion; and student poetry readings in various languages.

Among afternoon programs is a video exhibition in Pettengill’s Perry Atrium curated by filmmaker Craig Saddlemire, a member of the class of 2005, and an art project presented by the 2010 Eco Rep Team and sustainability coordinator Julie Rosenbach called What’s on Your Green Conscience? The project offers participants a chance to see what’s on others’ green consciences and express their own.

King Day concludes with a performance by Bates students at 7:30 p.m. in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall. Students commissioned to create cultural work for the day’s events will present music, dance and spoken pieces. Performers include Bates College Step Team; the Robinson Players, a campus theater group; the Bates Gospelaires, a gospel choir; Justified; Hans Johnson and the Hybrid Sun; Lindsey Reuter; and Clyde Bango.

Savage researches 20th-century African American political and religious history and the intersections between race, media and politics. She is the author of Your Spirits Walk Beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion (Harvard University Press, 2008), an examination of the role of religion in racial leadership; and Broadcasting Freedom: Radio, War and the Politics of Race, 1938-1948 (University of North Carolina Press, 1999), which won the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Award.

Savage is the interim director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Africana Studies. She received her doctorate in history from Yale, also holds a doctorate in law from Georgetown University and earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia.

Here is a preview of public events for January 2010. Click “Print this post” at the bottom of the page for a version especially formatted for printing.

For up-to-date information throughout the month, see our Upcoming Events list, updated daily [intlink id="10234" type="page"]here[/intlink].

Except as noted, these events are open to the public at no charge.

Saturday, Jan. 9

1pm Swimming vs. Norwich and New England. Merrill Gymnasium, Tarbell Pool

2pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Williams. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

Sunday, Jan. 10

Noon Swimming vs. Middlebury. Merrill Gymnasium, Tarbell Pool

Tuesday, Jan. 12

12:30pm Noonday Concert: The Bates College Jazz Combo led by Benjamin Smeltzer ’10. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 13

6–9pm Figure drawing sponsored by the Bates College Museum of Art. Artists, bring drawing board and supplies! Easels provided. Admission: $7 (free for Bates students). Olin Arts Center, Room 259

Friday, Jan. 15

6pm Exhibition opening: A reception opens the Museum of Art exhibition Collection Project 4: Selections from Alumni Collections (see Museum of Art, below). For more information call 207-786-6158. Bates College Museum of Art

7 & 9:30pm Film: Zombieland (2009, 81 min.) Sponsored by the Filmboard. Admission: $1. Olin Arts Center, Room 104

7:30pm Concert: In a performance rescheduled from last fall, acclaimed German fortepianist Andreas Staier performs sonatas and variations by Haydn. Tickets are $12/$6 and available from www.batestickets.com. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Saturday, Jan. 16

2 & 7pm Film: Zombieland (see Jan. 15). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

Sunday, Jan. 17

2 & 4:30pm Film: Zombieland (see Jan. 15). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

3pm Concert: Frank Glazer, artist in residence, performs the fifth installment in his survey of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas. Program includes Ops. 49, 53, 54 and 57 (“Appassionata”). Free, but tickets required. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

5:30pm Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service, incorporating music and liturgy from Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant sources. The Rev. William Cutler leads the service with faculty, staff and students speaking. All are welcome. For more information call 207-786-8272. Chase Hall Lounge

7pm Worship service: A sermon by Barbara D. Savage, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, highlights the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial Service of Worship. (Savage also gives the keynote speech during King Day observances at Bates the following day.) The service includes music by Bates students. Sponsored by the Multifaith Chaplaincy. For more information call 207-786-8272. Bates College Chapel

8:30pm Reception: Meet Professor Savage (see preceding item). Multicultural Center

Monday, Jan. 18    Martin Luther King Jr. Day

In observance of the holiday, classes are canceled and special programming takes place throughout the day. (See Sunday, Jan. 17, for related events.) This year’s King Day theme at Bates is Faith and Ethics in the Public Sphere: What Is the Dream? For more information, call 207-786-6400.

9am Reception: Meet the students from Morehouse and Bates colleges and local high schools who will participate in the morning’s debate (see following item). Benjamin Mays Center

9:30am Oratorical event: Members of the debate teams from Morehouse and Bates colleges and local high school orators debate the resolution, “This house believes that religion is a necessary element of a just social change.” Benjamin Mays Center

10:45am Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote address: Benjamin Mays and the Politics of Black Religion in the Age of Desegregation by Barbara Savage (see Jan. 17). Mays, a member of the Bates Class of 1920, was an important figure in the civil rights movement and the longtime president of Morehouse College. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

1:20pm and throughout the afternoon Workshops: In three concurrent sessions (times and rooms TBA), students, staff, guests and faculty lead readings, presentations and discussions on topics connected to the King Day theme, Faith and Ethics in the Public Sphere: What Is the Dream? The afternoon includes a video exhibition in the Perry Atrium curated by filmmaker Craig Saddlemire ’05. For a complete schedule, call 207-786-6400. Pettengill Hall

7:30pm Performance: Bates students, commissioned to create cultural work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, present music, dance and spoken pieces. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Tuesday, Jan. 19

12:30pm Noonday Concert: Futaba Niekawa, pianist, performs Alban Berg’s Sonata, Op. 1, and other works. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 20

5:30pm Women’s basketball vs. St. Joseph’s. Alumni Gymnasium

6–9pm Figure drawing (see Jan. 13). Olin Arts Center, Room 259

7:30pm Men’s basketball vs. St. Joseph’s. Alumni Gymnasium

Thursday, Jan. 21

6pm Women’s squash vs. Colby. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

Friday, Jan. 22

Time TBA Workshops: Suzanne Vega, the renowned singer-songwriter, offers a creative writing workshop and a business-of-the-arts workshop during the day. Watch the Bates Web site for details. Vega performs two shows the following evening. Presented by the College Concerts Committee. Olin Arts Center

6pm Women’s basketball vs. Bowdoin. Alumni Gymnasium

6pm Men’s squash vs. Bowdoin. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7 & 9:30pm Film: Where the Wild Things Are (2009, 101 min.) Sponsored by the Filmboard. Admission: $1. Olin Arts Center, Room 104

8pm Men’s basketball vs. Bowdoin. Alumni Gymnasium

Saturday, Jan. 23

Noon Men’s and women’s track and field vs. Colby and Southern Maine. Merrill Gymnasium, Slovenski Track

1pm Swimming vs. Colby. Merrill Gymnasium, Tarbell Pool

2pm Women’s basketball vs. Colby. Alumni Gymnasium

2 & 7pm Film: Where the Wild Things Are (see Jan. 22).
Olin Arts Center, Room 104

4pm Men’s basketball vs. Colby. Alumni Gymnasium

4pm Men’s squash vs. Boston University. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

6pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Northeastern. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7 & 9:30pm Concert: Suzanne Vega, a renowned singer-songwriter who has made brilliant use of both high-tech and folk settings for her cool observations of city life, is presented by the Bates College Concerts Committee. Tickets are $20/$12 per show and available at www.batestickets.com. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Sunday, Jan. 24

2 & 4:30pm Film: Where the Wild Things Are (see Jan. 22). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

5:30pm Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Jan. 17). Chase Hall Lounge

Tuesday, Jan. 26

12:30pm Noonday Concert: Folk music by Anthony Shostak and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Jan. 27

6–9pm Figure drawing (see Jan. 13). Olin Arts Center, Room 259

Thursday, Jan. 28

4:15pm Lecture: Wand Me! Assuming the (Subject) Position of the Compliant Body in the Age of Terror by Alan Nadel, William T. Bryan Professor of English at the University of Kentucky. Nadel examines the visual and verbal rhetoric of airport security and the Transportation Security Administration Web site. Sponsored by the English department and the Bates Learning Associates Program. Pettigrew Hall, Room 200

Friday, Jan. 29

6pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Columbia. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7 & 9:30pm Film: Paranormal Activity (2009, 86 min.) Sponsored by the Filmboard. Admission: $1. Olin Arts Center, Room 104

Saturday, Jan. 30

10am Workshop: Debating 4 Democracy (D4D) on the Road. Facilitators from Midwest Academy offer a six-hour training workshop designed to help novice and seasoned political activists develop effective strategies to advocate their positions on current public policy issues. Registration required. For more information and to register, visit this site. Chase Hall Lounge

11am Men’s squash vs. MIT. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

2pm Women’s squash vs. Mount Holyoke. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

2 & 7pm Film: Paranormal Activity (see Jan. 29). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

3:30pm Men’s squash vs. Denison. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

5pm Men’s squash vs. Stanford. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

7pm Lecture: The Bates Outing Club celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2010. This inaugural program in the celebration is a lecture and discussion with Tyler Fish ’96, who successfully completed the first unsupported American cross-country ski expedition to the North Pole last April. For more information call 207-786-8344. Benjamin Mays Center

7:30pm Concert: The Auryn Quartet, from Germany, returns for two nights to continue the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets that it began last year. Sponsored by the Bates Concerts Committee. Tickets are $10/$4 and available at www.batestickets.com. Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Sunday, Jan. 31

11am Men’s squash vs. Dartmouth. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

2 & 4:30pm Film: Paranormal Activity (see Jan. 29). Olin Arts Center, Room 104

3pm Concert: Auryn Quartet (see Jan. 30). Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

4pm Men’s and women’s squash vs. Brown. Bates Squash Center, 56 Plourde Parkway

5:30pm Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Jan. 17). Chase Hall Lounge

Bates College Museum of Art

Museum hours: 10am–5pm Tuesday–Saturday

Jan. 15–March 27

Collection Project 4: Selections from Alumni Collections: This exhibition, fourth in a series examining works from the permanent collection, focuses on some of the holdings donated by Bates alumni. Not a comprehensive survey of alumni gifts, the exhibition highlights collections that have had a significant impact on the museum, underscoring the importance of alumni gifts to the richness of the permanent collection. The museum has invited student curatorial interns from the art and visual culture department to develop an exhibition from within these collections: seniors Molly Richmond, Emma Scott and Annie Svigals, under the guidance of the museum’s curator, Bill Low, and curator of education Anthony Shostak.

Through March 26

Joel Babb: The Process Revealed: Curated by Bill Low, this exhibition investigates the role of both the act of drawing and the drawings themselves in making a painting. Rather than mere by-products of the act of creating paintings, drawings are engaging, satisfying and instructive in their own right. Pairing preparatory drawings with finished paintings, this exhibition reveals the stages of work that go into a resolved piece of art. Displayed are works from three of Babb’s areas of interest: cityscapes, wilderness landscapes and figural works such as history painting.

Barry Nemett: Drawings from Italy: This exhibition presents landscapes made during travels to Italy. Nemett, a Mellon Fellow at Bates and chair of the painting department at the Maryland Institute College of Art, has received numerous awards including two from the Alfred and Trafford Klots Residency Program to paint in France and a Ford Foundation grant to support his work in Italy.

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