University of New England

UNE's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration features human rights activist Charles Willie, Anouar Majid and the Silver Leaf Gospel Singers

BIDDEFORD/PORTLAND – Featured speakers Charles Willie, Ph.D., Harvard University sociologist, human rights activist and former Morehouse College classmate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Anouar Majid, Ph.D., chair of the University of New England’s English Department, as well as the acclaimed Silver Leaf Gospel Singers are all part of UNE’s 20th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, January 24-31, 2007.  

Calendar of Events:

Wednesday, January 24 at noon

Anouar Majid

UNE’s Campus Center on the University Campus in Biddeford
Professor Anouar Majid will speak on “Crescent of Liberty: Islam and the African-American Struggle for Justice.”  More ...

Wednesday, January 24 at noon
UNE’s CHP Lecture Hall – Westbrook College Campus in Portland
Gallery talk with Maine artist Robert Shetterly whose “Americans Who Tell the Truth” exhibition is on display in the Art Gallery at UNE through February 4; talk followed by refreshments and a tour. More ...

Wednesday, January 24 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Art Gallery at UNE – Westbrook College Campus in Portland
Gallery tea and tour of Maine artist Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” exhibition (on display in the Art Gallery at UNE through February 4).  More ...

Wednesday, January 31 from 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Ludcke Auditorium on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland
Charles Willie, Ph.D. will give a keynote speech - “Political Thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”   More ...

Tuesday, January 30 from 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Charles Willie

UNE’s Campus Center – Multipurpose Rooms on the University Campus in Biddeford
Charles Willie, Ph.D. will speak on the “Montgomery Bus Boycott.”  More ...

Wednesday, January 31 from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Ludcke Auditorium on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland
Silverleaf Gospel Singers (following Charles Willie’s speech). More ...

Wednesday, January 31 from 8:00-10:00 p.m.
Silverleaf Gospel Singers plus UNE TABS campus singers in a full-length concert. More ...

All events are free and open to the public.

Other Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration events at UNE or involving UNE students include a number of volunteer service projects including the READ-IN project; a photo exhibition on the University Campus in Biddeford of 1920’s southern plantation life by Maine writer and author, Chansonetta Stanley Emmons; and a campus civility project workshop designed by the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence.

Speakers/Performers

UNE Professor Anouar Majid, Ph.D., is a leading figure in the examination of the place of religion and Islam in postcolonial theory and the culture of globalization. His talk, “Crescent of Liberty,” is part of his latest project that examines the relationship between Islam and minorities in the modern West. More ...

Charles Vert Willie, Ph.D. is the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education Emeritus at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University. He is a former classmate of Martin Luther King, Jr. at Morehouse College. A human rights activist, Willie was a founding member of the Human Rights Council in Concord, Massachusetts. More ...

Silverleaf Gospel Singers
This a capella singing group was formed 60 years ago by Deacon Randy Green, who grew up singing in the cotton fields and churches of segregated Alabama. The soulful, “jubilee” gospel music sung by the ensemble will leave a lasting impression. More ...

For a complete list of events and information, visit UNE’s website at /studentlife/multi/events.asp or call Donna Gaspar Jarvis at 602-2461.

(Press release issued Jan. 3, 2007)