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UNH Celebrates Martin Luther
King Jr. Day Jan. 28-29
Elaine Jones, president of the NAACP
Legal Defense Fund, is keynote speaker
Contact: Lori Wright
603-862-0574
UNH Media Relations
January 13, 2004
DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire will celebrate the
birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. with a two-day celebration, “Sharing
the Dream: Peace, Equity and Change,” Wednesday, Jan. 28,
and Thursday, Jan. 29, 2004.
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Elaine Jones, president and defense counsel for the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and
Education Fund, will give the keynote address Thursday evening.
Festivities begin Wednesday, Jan. 28, with “Community Services
for Change” in the Granite State Room of the Memorial Union
Building. From 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., faculty, staff and students
can write letters, sign petitions, send Valentines and create posters
while learning about dozens of community nonprofits and campus service
organizations.
That evening at 4:30 p.m., the campus is invited to celebrate MLK
Jr.'s dream at the “Sharing the Dream” dinner at Holloway
Commons. Participants will dine on food from around the world, enjoying
a selection of international cuisine that will highlight countries
striving for peace, equity and change.
At 7 p.m., UNH will host a spiritual celebration at the Community
Church of Durham on Main Street. The event will be an interfaith
and spirited celebration of the life and legacy of MLK Jr. in song,
readings, prayer, reflection and community. All are welcome at this
event. For more information, call 862-1165 or e-mail waysmeet@msn.com.
Thursday's events include an interactive program, “Affirmative
Action in Education: Brown to Michigan to UNH,” from 2:30-4:30
p.m. in the Granite State Room of the MUB. Facilitated by Wanda
Mitchell, visiting professor of education, the program will provide
an outlet for the UNH community to explore the social and political
contexts of affirmative action. Elaine Jones will join UNH representatives
on the panel.
The culmination of the celebration will be the keynote address by
Jones at 7 p.m. in the Johnson Theatre of the Paul Creative Arts
Center, followed by a reception in The Art Gallery. In 1993, Jones
became the first woman to head the Legal Defense Fund. She brought
with her two decades of experience as a litigator and civil rights
activist, as well as a passion for fairness and equality. Jones
graduated from Howard University with honors in political science
and she served for two years with the Peace Corps in Turkey before
being admitted to law school.
After joining the Legal Defense Fund, Jones became one of the first
African American women to defend death row inmates. She was counsel
of record in Furman vs. Georgia, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case
that abolished the death penalty in 37 states. She played a key
role in securing passage of the legislative milestones of the Voting
Rights Act Amendments of 1982, the Fair Housing Act of 1988, the
Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, and the Civil Rights Act of
1991.
The keynote event will include performances by UNH students. Also,
the three recipients of the first annual Social Justice Awards will
be announced. A new award created by the UNH Diversity Team and
the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration planning team, it honors
the work of a student, a staff member and a faculty member who has
demonstrated outstanding leadership, courage and role modeling in
promoting social justice issues, such as diversity, equity and human
rights, at the university.
UNH's 2004 MLK Jr. Day events are sponsored by: Office of Multicultural
Student Affairs, President's Commissions, Office of Residential
Life, Office of Student Life, UNH Campus Ministry, Counseling Center,
Office of Affirmative Action Office, Partnership for Social Action,
Health Services, Holloway Commons, English Department, Diversity
Support Coalition and Admissions. For more information, please visit
http://www.unh.edu/insidescoop/mlk/index.html.
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