{"id":60657,"date":"2012-12-19T09:51:40","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T14:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=60657"},"modified":"2024-07-01T16:43:35","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T20:43:35","slug":"mlk13-main","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2012\/12\/19\/mlk13-main\/","title":{"rendered":"As nation ponders rich-poor divide, King Day observances to explore debt and inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Martin Luther King Jr. is shown at the White House after meeting with President Lyndon Johnson to discuss civil rights, 1963. Photograph by Warren K. Leffler\/U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.<\/p><\/div>\n

Spotlighting a less-known aspect of the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Bates College will dedicate its Jan. 20-21 King Day programming to exploring issues of financial inequality and debt.<\/p>\n

The theme of the observances is Debt and Inequality: The Relevance of King\u2019s Forgotten Economic Message<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Never out of date, the question of financial inequality is especially pertinent now, given a national election season and \u201cfiscal cliff\u201d debate in which issues of economic fairness have been central.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Anthea Butler, associate professor of religious studies and African American studies at the University of Pennsylvania, offers a sermon and the keynote address at Bates’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances. Photograph by Byron Maldonado.<\/p><\/div>\n

Taking place Sunday and Monday, Jan. 20-21, Bates\u2019 programming features films; workshops; two addresses by Anthea Butler<\/a>, a theologian whose forthcoming book explores the connection between Sarah Palin\u2019s politics and her religion; and performances including one by the Bates student group Sankofa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s events include documentary films examining issues of corporate power and civil rights history, as well as the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Service, featuring a sermon by Butler titled God and the 99 Percent<\/em>.<\/p>\n

On Monday the college presents Martin Luther King Jr. and America’s Bad Check: America’s Poor in the 21st Century<\/strong><\/em>, Butler\u2019s keynote address; a debate between Bates and Morehouse College students; a play; workshops; and the Sankofa event.<\/p>\n

\n