![\"erica](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/mlk\/files\/2024\/12\/MLK_2400x1260_Border_12.webp\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNote: The 2025 MLK Day schedule is preliminary and subject to change and updates. <\/h6>\n\n\n\nSunday, Jan. 19, 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n2pm | Film and Discussion: Children of Peace<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/lite-youtube>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1970s, a group of dreamers embarked on a utopian experiment, giving birth to Neve Shalom \u2014 a village envisioned as a model of harmonious coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Despite these noble aspirations, the community found itself entangled in internal conflicts and beset by external challenges that put their revolutionary vision to the test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This documentary, a groundbreaking exploration, delves into the experiences of the children who came of age in this extraordinary setting. Now adults, they grapple with the harsh realities of political turmoil, war, and societal segregation. Through their personal stories, Children of Peace<\/em> seeks to scrutinize whether Neve Shalom indeed offered a genuine opportunity for peaceful coexistence or if it was, ultimately, nothing more than a social experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Pettengill G52<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n7\u20138pm | MLK Day Spoken Word Festival<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Presentation<\/em>: The Multifaith Chaplaincy celebrates the voices that propelled the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with performances from poets, spoken word artists, and musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe second annual MLK Day Spoken Word festival brings together powerful poetry and soulful song around the theme “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence.” Featured artists for the evening are acclaimed poet and co-executive director of Maine Inside Out, Joseph Jackson, and beloved singer Kenya Hall whom Rolling Stone dubbed a “soul powerhouse.” Students Misaki Fukushima ’25, Ahmednoor Hassan ’27, Bora Lugunda ’25, and Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 will also perform pieces at the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Location: Gomes Chapel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMonday, Jan. 20<\/h2>\n\n\n\n9am \u2013 10:30am | The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote<\/h3>\n\n\n\nPresident\u2019s Welcome<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Garry W. Jenkins, President of Bates College<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction of Keynote Speaker<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Tyler Harper, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Co-chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keynote Address<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Erica Chenoweth<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Closing<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
James Reese, Associate Dean of International Student Programs, Member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Location: Gomes Chapel<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10:45am\u20131pm<\/h3>\n\n\n\nDream Big with the Bobcats<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Bates student-athletes will host a community day for local youth in grades 1\u20136. The event will start with a brief discussion about the legacy of MLK followed by reading, coloring, an optional fun run, walk, or roll, and pizza and refreshments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sponsors<\/strong>: Department of Athletics, Athletics Committee, Athletics Equity and Inclusion Council, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Harward Center for Community Partnerships, and the Athletics Committee of Bates Student Government<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Merrill Gymnasium <\/em>| Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10:45am\u201312:15pm | Workshops: Session I<\/h3>\n\n\n\nAin’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\nFilm and Discussion<\/em>: Never-before-seen footage, immersive storytelling, and firsthand accounts from living protesters drive this compelling documentary<\/a> about the events more than six decades ago at Glen Echo Amusement Park, a whites-only recreation destination for metropolitan Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"protesters\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/mlk\/files\/2024\/12\/Protest-signs-with-black-and-white-group-members-plus-Gwendolyn-Britt_small-transformed.webp\")
<\/a>Protesters at Glen Echo Amusement Park during the 1960 protests. (National Park Service, Glen Echo Park Photo Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOne day in June 1960, Black students from Howard University entered the park and sat on the merry-go-round. White, middle-aged neighbors, largely Jewish, joined the protest, which was soon countered violently by members of the American Nazi Party. Black students marched with white supporters for 10 weeks, creating a melting pot of activists that helped to radicalize future giants of the Civil Rights Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note:<\/strong> This offering extends from 10:45 to 12:45 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Ilana Trachtman, the film’s director, who will lead a post-screening Q&A via Zoom<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Hedge 106 | <\/em>Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBlack Dandyism: Culture of Dress and Imagination<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: <\/strong>The forthcoming Met Costume Institute\u2019s exhibition Superfine: Tailoring Black Style<\/em> <\/a>examines the Black dandy as a figure, style, and expression of Black possibility. This workshop utilizes the same guiding text, written by scholar Monica L. Miller, who is the exhibition\u2019s guest curator. Participants will learn the history of Dandy dress as described by Miller and discuss its role in Black resistance, as well as the role of sartorial culture more broadly, specifically tailoring, in the development of modern power systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter:<\/strong> Janie Phillips \u201927<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Dana 219<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBlack Resistance Through Wealth: What We Can Learn from Black Wall Street<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: Black resistance is characterized many ways, such as through protest and systemic reform, but it is seldom identified through economic prosperity. The concept of Black wealth was never supposed to be part of America\u2019s racial hegemony, so the simple act of garnering wealth in a nation where your ancestors were once viewed as capital is one of the greatest forms of resistance possible for Black folks in capitalist America. Nowhere epitomized this fact more than Black Wall Street of Tulsa, Okla., as the practice of Black separatism paired with entrepreneurial fervor not only made Black Wall Street a cultural hub,but also helped make the entire city of Tulsa one of the largest economic hubs in the U.S. in the early 20th century. This workshop will serve as a historical analysis of Black Wall Street in an attempt to fully understand its lasting legacy of Black wealth, resistance, and possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Andrew Goddard \u201927<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Pettengill G21<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHonoring the Water, Land, and People: Passamaquoddy Pathways to Healing and Anticolonial Future<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: Centering the wisdom and resilience of the Passamaquoddy Indigenous people in Maine, this workshop explores the importance of honoring water, land, and people, with truth-telling as a path to healing, resilience, and resistance. Participants will gain an appreciation for truth-telling as a powerful form of resistance, enabling the Passamaquoddy to confront historical injustices and foster strength to resist oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenters<\/strong>: Yun Garrison, assistant professor of psychology; Minquansis Sapiel, Passamaquoddy Tribe member from Sipayik; Liang Wu, visiting assistant professor of anthropology<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Commons 221<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBuilders Movement Initiative<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Presentation:<\/em> <\/strong>As societies become increasingly divided, institutions need support to equip people with the skills, tools, and network for thinking flexibility and solving problems constructively, without resorting to hatred, dehumanization, and violence. Builders Movement, a student-led initiative at Bates, seeks to combat polarization and dehumanization through passionate conviction and critical thinking, undertaking informed civic action to transform our communities. This workshop will give an overview of previous dialogue efforts at Bates, connect participants about opportunities and concerns, and learn specific skills on how to engage others with curiosity, compassion, and constructive problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Ananya Rao \u201925
Sponsors<\/strong>: Builders Movement; Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Location:<\/em> Pettengill G65<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nLocal Antiwar Organizing Today<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: What does local antiwar organizing look like in Maine today? What are the challenges, motivations, experiences, strategies, and hopes of organizers working to call out and end U.S. involvement in violent conflicts abroad? This workshop brings together Maine community organizers to discuss these questions in a space of solidarity. Discussants include representatives from the Lewiston and Portland ceasefire and divestment efforts, Jewish Voices for Peace, Maine immigrant and human rights organizers, Maine FJP, and the Maine Coalition for Palestine. The MLK day workshops at Bates began in response to US military involvement in the Middle East and the need to disrupt usual schedules to meaningfully process these activities. This workshop is in the spirit of these origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSponsors:<\/strong> Lewiston Ceasefire and Divestment Working Group and Bates faculty including Christine Martinez, visiting assistant professor of environmental Studies; Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships; and Asha Tamirisa, assistant professor of music<\/p>\n\n\n\nPettengill G52<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSexy Peace: Reflections on Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop:<\/em> Bayard Rustin, an African American gay man, was the architect for the use of nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement. This presentation examines how the critically acclaimed film Rustin<\/em> (2023) makes gay sex and desires indispensable to the success of the momentous 1963 March on Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays \u201920 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Dana 204<\/em> | Reserved ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1:15\u20132:45 pm | Workshops: Session II<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWorking Class Discontent: A Reckoning of Economic Discontent and the 2024 Elections<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Panel Discussion<\/em>: This discussion, with diverse worker and union voices, will center key issues left unaddressed in the 2024 election and focus on what it will take to organize for economic security and human dignity in the new political era. Under the second phase of the Civil Rights Movement, known as the Poor People\u2019s Campaign, Martin Luther King Jr. sought to unify America\u2019s poor and working class on economic opportunity and human dignity, across racial lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWith impressive economic gains from the Biden-Harris administration to secure union jobs and investments in roads and infrastructure, canceling student-loan debt, and tax credits for parents, many saw Harris\u2019s campaign as an attempt to unify a multi-racial, multi-class electorate. While Trump\u2019s victory across most voting groups signals an electorate shift to the right, in down-ballot races \u2014 abortion rights, pro-worker ballot measures, and union candidates \u2014 saw impressive victories in the election. Working-class discontent has been described as the reason for Trump\u2019s victory, but the U.S. working class is diverse, stratified, and largely unorganized.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\nPanelists<\/strong>: Linda Deane, president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of United Steelworkers Local 900; Maine State Rep. Kilton Webb, vice president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of IBEW Local 567
Moderator<\/strong>: Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06, associate director of democratic engagement and student activism for the Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Sponsor<\/strong>: Harward Center for Community Partnerships<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2pm | Film and Discussion: Children of Peace<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/lite-youtube>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1970s, a group of dreamers embarked on a utopian experiment, giving birth to Neve Shalom \u2014 a village envisioned as a model of harmonious coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Despite these noble aspirations, the community found itself entangled in internal conflicts and beset by external challenges that put their revolutionary vision to the test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This documentary, a groundbreaking exploration, delves into the experiences of the children who came of age in this extraordinary setting. Now adults, they grapple with the harsh realities of political turmoil, war, and societal segregation. Through their personal stories, Children of Peace<\/em> seeks to scrutinize whether Neve Shalom indeed offered a genuine opportunity for peaceful coexistence or if it was, ultimately, nothing more than a social experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Pettengill G52<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n7\u20138pm | MLK Day Spoken Word Festival<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Presentation<\/em>: The Multifaith Chaplaincy celebrates the voices that propelled the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with performances from poets, spoken word artists, and musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe second annual MLK Day Spoken Word festival brings together powerful poetry and soulful song around the theme “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence.” Featured artists for the evening are acclaimed poet and co-executive director of Maine Inside Out, Joseph Jackson, and beloved singer Kenya Hall whom Rolling Stone dubbed a “soul powerhouse.” Students Misaki Fukushima ’25, Ahmednoor Hassan ’27, Bora Lugunda ’25, and Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 will also perform pieces at the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Location: Gomes Chapel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMonday, Jan. 20<\/h2>\n\n\n\n9am \u2013 10:30am | The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote<\/h3>\n\n\n\nPresident\u2019s Welcome<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Garry W. Jenkins, President of Bates College<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction of Keynote Speaker<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Tyler Harper, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Co-chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keynote Address<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Erica Chenoweth<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Closing<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
James Reese, Associate Dean of International Student Programs, Member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Location: Gomes Chapel<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10:45am\u20131pm<\/h3>\n\n\n\nDream Big with the Bobcats<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Bates student-athletes will host a community day for local youth in grades 1\u20136. The event will start with a brief discussion about the legacy of MLK followed by reading, coloring, an optional fun run, walk, or roll, and pizza and refreshments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sponsors<\/strong>: Department of Athletics, Athletics Committee, Athletics Equity and Inclusion Council, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Harward Center for Community Partnerships, and the Athletics Committee of Bates Student Government<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Merrill Gymnasium <\/em>| Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10:45am\u201312:15pm | Workshops: Session I<\/h3>\n\n\n\nAin’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\nFilm and Discussion<\/em>: Never-before-seen footage, immersive storytelling, and firsthand accounts from living protesters drive this compelling documentary<\/a> about the events more than six decades ago at Glen Echo Amusement Park, a whites-only recreation destination for metropolitan Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Protesters at Glen Echo Amusement Park during the 1960 protests. (National Park Service, Glen Echo Park Photo Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOne day in June 1960, Black students from Howard University entered the park and sat on the merry-go-round. White, middle-aged neighbors, largely Jewish, joined the protest, which was soon countered violently by members of the American Nazi Party. Black students marched with white supporters for 10 weeks, creating a melting pot of activists that helped to radicalize future giants of the Civil Rights Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note:<\/strong> This offering extends from 10:45 to 12:45 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Ilana Trachtman, the film’s director, who will lead a post-screening Q&A via Zoom<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Hedge 106 | <\/em>Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBlack Dandyism: Culture of Dress and Imagination<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: <\/strong>The forthcoming Met Costume Institute\u2019s exhibition Superfine: Tailoring Black Style<\/em> <\/a>examines the Black dandy as a figure, style, and expression of Black possibility. This workshop utilizes the same guiding text, written by scholar Monica L. Miller, who is the exhibition\u2019s guest curator. Participants will learn the history of Dandy dress as described by Miller and discuss its role in Black resistance, as well as the role of sartorial culture more broadly, specifically tailoring, in the development of modern power systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter:<\/strong> Janie Phillips \u201927<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Dana 219<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBlack Resistance Through Wealth: What We Can Learn from Black Wall Street<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: Black resistance is characterized many ways, such as through protest and systemic reform, but it is seldom identified through economic prosperity. The concept of Black wealth was never supposed to be part of America\u2019s racial hegemony, so the simple act of garnering wealth in a nation where your ancestors were once viewed as capital is one of the greatest forms of resistance possible for Black folks in capitalist America. Nowhere epitomized this fact more than Black Wall Street of Tulsa, Okla., as the practice of Black separatism paired with entrepreneurial fervor not only made Black Wall Street a cultural hub,but also helped make the entire city of Tulsa one of the largest economic hubs in the U.S. in the early 20th century. This workshop will serve as a historical analysis of Black Wall Street in an attempt to fully understand its lasting legacy of Black wealth, resistance, and possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Andrew Goddard \u201927<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Pettengill G21<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHonoring the Water, Land, and People: Passamaquoddy Pathways to Healing and Anticolonial Future<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: Centering the wisdom and resilience of the Passamaquoddy Indigenous people in Maine, this workshop explores the importance of honoring water, land, and people, with truth-telling as a path to healing, resilience, and resistance. Participants will gain an appreciation for truth-telling as a powerful form of resistance, enabling the Passamaquoddy to confront historical injustices and foster strength to resist oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenters<\/strong>: Yun Garrison, assistant professor of psychology; Minquansis Sapiel, Passamaquoddy Tribe member from Sipayik; Liang Wu, visiting assistant professor of anthropology<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Commons 221<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBuilders Movement Initiative<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Presentation:<\/em> <\/strong>As societies become increasingly divided, institutions need support to equip people with the skills, tools, and network for thinking flexibility and solving problems constructively, without resorting to hatred, dehumanization, and violence. Builders Movement, a student-led initiative at Bates, seeks to combat polarization and dehumanization through passionate conviction and critical thinking, undertaking informed civic action to transform our communities. This workshop will give an overview of previous dialogue efforts at Bates, connect participants about opportunities and concerns, and learn specific skills on how to engage others with curiosity, compassion, and constructive problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Ananya Rao \u201925
Sponsors<\/strong>: Builders Movement; Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Location:<\/em> Pettengill G65<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nLocal Antiwar Organizing Today<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop<\/em>: What does local antiwar organizing look like in Maine today? What are the challenges, motivations, experiences, strategies, and hopes of organizers working to call out and end U.S. involvement in violent conflicts abroad? This workshop brings together Maine community organizers to discuss these questions in a space of solidarity. Discussants include representatives from the Lewiston and Portland ceasefire and divestment efforts, Jewish Voices for Peace, Maine immigrant and human rights organizers, Maine FJP, and the Maine Coalition for Palestine. The MLK day workshops at Bates began in response to US military involvement in the Middle East and the need to disrupt usual schedules to meaningfully process these activities. This workshop is in the spirit of these origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSponsors:<\/strong> Lewiston Ceasefire and Divestment Working Group and Bates faculty including Christine Martinez, visiting assistant professor of environmental Studies; Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships; and Asha Tamirisa, assistant professor of music<\/p>\n\n\n\nPettengill G52<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSexy Peace: Reflections on Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Workshop:<\/em> Bayard Rustin, an African American gay man, was the architect for the use of nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement. This presentation examines how the critically acclaimed film Rustin<\/em> (2023) makes gay sex and desires indispensable to the success of the momentous 1963 March on Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresenter<\/strong>: Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays \u201920 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocation: Dana 204<\/em> | Reserved ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1:15\u20132:45 pm | Workshops: Session II<\/h3>\n\n\n\nWorking Class Discontent: A Reckoning of Economic Discontent and the 2024 Elections<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Panel Discussion<\/em>: This discussion, with diverse worker and union voices, will center key issues left unaddressed in the 2024 election and focus on what it will take to organize for economic security and human dignity in the new political era. Under the second phase of the Civil Rights Movement, known as the Poor People\u2019s Campaign, Martin Luther King Jr. sought to unify America\u2019s poor and working class on economic opportunity and human dignity, across racial lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWith impressive economic gains from the Biden-Harris administration to secure union jobs and investments in roads and infrastructure, canceling student-loan debt, and tax credits for parents, many saw Harris\u2019s campaign as an attempt to unify a multi-racial, multi-class electorate. While Trump\u2019s victory across most voting groups signals an electorate shift to the right, in down-ballot races \u2014 abortion rights, pro-worker ballot measures, and union candidates \u2014 saw impressive victories in the election. Working-class discontent has been described as the reason for Trump\u2019s victory, but the U.S. working class is diverse, stratified, and largely unorganized.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\nPanelists<\/strong>: Linda Deane, president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of United Steelworkers Local 900; Maine State Rep. Kilton Webb, vice president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of IBEW Local 567
Moderator<\/strong>: Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06, associate director of democratic engagement and student activism for the Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Sponsor<\/strong>: Harward Center for Community Partnerships<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1970s, a group of dreamers embarked on a utopian experiment, giving birth to Neve Shalom \u2014 a village envisioned as a model of harmonious coexistence between Arabs and Jews. Despite these noble aspirations, the community found itself entangled in internal conflicts and beset by external challenges that put their revolutionary vision to the test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This documentary, a groundbreaking exploration, delves into the experiences of the children who came of age in this extraordinary setting. Now adults, they grapple with the harsh realities of political turmoil, war, and societal segregation. Through their personal stories, Children of Peace<\/em> seeks to scrutinize whether Neve Shalom indeed offered a genuine opportunity for peaceful coexistence or if it was, ultimately, nothing more than a social experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Pettengill G52<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Presentation<\/em>: The Multifaith Chaplaincy celebrates the voices that propelled the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with performances from poets, spoken word artists, and musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second annual MLK Day Spoken Word festival brings together powerful poetry and soulful song around the theme “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence.” Featured artists for the evening are acclaimed poet and co-executive director of Maine Inside Out, Joseph Jackson, and beloved singer Kenya Hall whom Rolling Stone dubbed a “soul powerhouse.” Students Misaki Fukushima ’25, Ahmednoor Hassan ’27, Bora Lugunda ’25, and Oleksii Sverbyvus ’28 will also perform pieces at the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Gomes Chapel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Garry W. Jenkins, President of Bates College<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tyler Harper, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Co-chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n Erica Chenoweth<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Reese, Associate Dean of International Student Programs, Member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Gomes Chapel<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bates student-athletes will host a community day for local youth in grades 1\u20136. The event will start with a brief discussion about the legacy of MLK followed by reading, coloring, an optional fun run, walk, or roll, and pizza and refreshments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sponsors<\/strong>: Department of Athletics, Athletics Committee, Athletics Equity and Inclusion Council, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Harward Center for Community Partnerships, and the Athletics Committee of Bates Student Government<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Merrill Gymnasium <\/em>| Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Film and Discussion<\/em>: Never-before-seen footage, immersive storytelling, and firsthand accounts from living protesters drive this compelling documentary<\/a> about the events more than six decades ago at Glen Echo Amusement Park, a whites-only recreation destination for metropolitan Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One day in June 1960, Black students from Howard University entered the park and sat on the merry-go-round. White, middle-aged neighbors, largely Jewish, joined the protest, which was soon countered violently by members of the American Nazi Party. Black students marched with white supporters for 10 weeks, creating a melting pot of activists that helped to radicalize future giants of the Civil Rights Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> This offering extends from 10:45 to 12:45 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presenter<\/strong>: Ilana Trachtman, the film’s director, who will lead a post-screening Q&A via Zoom<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Hedge 106 | <\/em>Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Workshop<\/em>: <\/strong>The forthcoming Met Costume Institute\u2019s exhibition Superfine: Tailoring Black Style<\/em> <\/a>examines the Black dandy as a figure, style, and expression of Black possibility. This workshop utilizes the same guiding text, written by scholar Monica L. Miller, who is the exhibition\u2019s guest curator. Participants will learn the history of Dandy dress as described by Miller and discuss its role in Black resistance, as well as the role of sartorial culture more broadly, specifically tailoring, in the development of modern power systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presenter:<\/strong> Janie Phillips \u201927<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Dana 219<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Workshop<\/em>: Black resistance is characterized many ways, such as through protest and systemic reform, but it is seldom identified through economic prosperity. The concept of Black wealth was never supposed to be part of America\u2019s racial hegemony, so the simple act of garnering wealth in a nation where your ancestors were once viewed as capital is one of the greatest forms of resistance possible for Black folks in capitalist America. Nowhere epitomized this fact more than Black Wall Street of Tulsa, Okla., as the practice of Black separatism paired with entrepreneurial fervor not only made Black Wall Street a cultural hub,but also helped make the entire city of Tulsa one of the largest economic hubs in the U.S. in the early 20th century. This workshop will serve as a historical analysis of Black Wall Street in an attempt to fully understand its lasting legacy of Black wealth, resistance, and possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presenter<\/strong>: Andrew Goddard \u201927<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Pettengill G21<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Workshop<\/em>: Centering the wisdom and resilience of the Passamaquoddy Indigenous people in Maine, this workshop explores the importance of honoring water, land, and people, with truth-telling as a path to healing, resilience, and resistance. Participants will gain an appreciation for truth-telling as a powerful form of resistance, enabling the Passamaquoddy to confront historical injustices and foster strength to resist oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presenters<\/strong>: Yun Garrison, assistant professor of psychology; Minquansis Sapiel, Passamaquoddy Tribe member from Sipayik; Liang Wu, visiting assistant professor of anthropology<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Commons 221<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Presentation:<\/em> <\/strong>As societies become increasingly divided, institutions need support to equip people with the skills, tools, and network for thinking flexibility and solving problems constructively, without resorting to hatred, dehumanization, and violence. Builders Movement, a student-led initiative at Bates, seeks to combat polarization and dehumanization through passionate conviction and critical thinking, undertaking informed civic action to transform our communities. This workshop will give an overview of previous dialogue efforts at Bates, connect participants about opportunities and concerns, and learn specific skills on how to engage others with curiosity, compassion, and constructive problem-solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presenter<\/strong>: Ananya Rao \u201925 Workshop<\/em>: What does local antiwar organizing look like in Maine today? What are the challenges, motivations, experiences, strategies, and hopes of organizers working to call out and end U.S. involvement in violent conflicts abroad? This workshop brings together Maine community organizers to discuss these questions in a space of solidarity. Discussants include representatives from the Lewiston and Portland ceasefire and divestment efforts, Jewish Voices for Peace, Maine immigrant and human rights organizers, Maine FJP, and the Maine Coalition for Palestine. The MLK day workshops at Bates began in response to US military involvement in the Middle East and the need to disrupt usual schedules to meaningfully process these activities. This workshop is in the spirit of these origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sponsors:<\/strong> Lewiston Ceasefire and Divestment Working Group and Bates faculty including Christine Martinez, visiting assistant professor of environmental Studies; Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships; and Asha Tamirisa, assistant professor of music<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pettengill G52<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Workshop:<\/em> Bayard Rustin, an African American gay man, was the architect for the use of nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement. This presentation examines how the critically acclaimed film Rustin<\/em> (2023) makes gay sex and desires indispensable to the success of the momentous 1963 March on Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presenter<\/strong>: Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays \u201920 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies<\/p>\n\n\n\n Location: Dana 204<\/em> | Reserved ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Panel Discussion<\/em>: This discussion, with diverse worker and union voices, will center key issues left unaddressed in the 2024 election and focus on what it will take to organize for economic security and human dignity in the new political era. Under the second phase of the Civil Rights Movement, known as the Poor People\u2019s Campaign, Martin Luther King Jr. sought to unify America\u2019s poor and working class on economic opportunity and human dignity, across racial lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With impressive economic gains from the Biden-Harris administration to secure union jobs and investments in roads and infrastructure, canceling student-loan debt, and tax credits for parents, many saw Harris\u2019s campaign as an attempt to unify a multi-racial, multi-class electorate. While Trump\u2019s victory across most voting groups signals an electorate shift to the right, in down-ballot races \u2014 abortion rights, pro-worker ballot measures, and union candidates \u2014 saw impressive victories in the election. Working-class discontent has been described as the reason for Trump\u2019s victory, but the U.S. working class is diverse, stratified, and largely unorganized.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Panelists<\/strong>: Linda Deane, president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of United Steelworkers Local 900; Maine State Rep. Kilton Webb, vice president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of IBEW Local 567
\n\n\n\n7\u20138pm | MLK Day Spoken Word Festival<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMonday, Jan. 20<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9am \u2013 10:30am | The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
President\u2019s Welcome<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Introduction of Keynote Speaker<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Keynote Address<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Closing<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10:45am\u20131pm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Dream Big with the Bobcats<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10:45am\u201312:15pm | Workshops: Session I<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>
\n\n\n\nBlack Dandyism: Culture of Dress and Imagination<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBlack Resistance Through Wealth: What We Can Learn from Black Wall Street<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHonoring the Water, Land, and People: Passamaquoddy Pathways to Healing and Anticolonial Future<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBuilders Movement Initiative<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Sponsors<\/strong>: Builders Movement; Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Location:<\/em> Pettengill G65<\/em> | Reserve ticket here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nLocal Antiwar Organizing Today<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSexy Peace: Reflections on Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1:15\u20132:45 pm | Workshops: Session II<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Working Class Discontent: A Reckoning of Economic Discontent and the 2024 Elections<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Moderator<\/strong>: Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06, associate director of democratic engagement and student activism for the Harward Center for Community Partnerships
Sponsor<\/strong>: Harward Center for Community Partnerships<\/p>\n\n\n\n