"(In)Visible Identities: The King Legacy and the Class Divide"
Dartmouth College's Annual Celebration of Martin Luther King
Jr.
January 20 - February 1, 2008
Identities -- cultural and individual -- are both visible and invisible in
multiple ways. Some markers of identity can be read on the body, though not as
reliably as we sometimes think. Others cannot. Identity is also visible or
invisible in terms of what we pay attention to in our teaching, learning, and
working environments -- as well as in our homes, communities, and public
spaces. This year's theme focuses on socio-economic class as a category
especially ripe for exploration in this context. The committee was inspired by
Dr. King's desire to organize a Poor Peoples Campaign and his focus on poverty
in the last years of his life -- an often neglected yet significant aspect of
his legacy.
We also have chosen this year to connect our efforts with various
class-focused initiatives already taking place on campus: the Hopkins Center's
Class Divide project, the Dartmouth Centers Forum theme of the same title, the
Great Issues in Medicine Symposium on Poverty, and others. Our hope is that all
of us, at Dartmouth and in the broader community, will become more aware of the
ways socio-economic realities shape our world and lives and, as a result, will
be inspired to address the pressing issues created by economic inequity.
Nelson Armstrong '71 and Giavanna Munafo
Co-Chairs, 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee
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Each year, the Office of Institutional Diversity & Equity, together with
the Office of Conferences and Special Events, arranges a program to celebrate
the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The program theme varies each
year, but we are always trying to explore what we learn in our society and what
shapes us as we negotiate the diverse world that surrounds us. Throughout our
celebration, we attempt to acknowledge a number of very powerful and competing
dynamics in US history; some of them affirm our humanity, some detract from our
common humanity.
A campus that values difference and that supports diversity is a campus that
encourages its members to explore the complexities that are central to
intellectual life. Matters of race, ethnicity, and gender are not always easy
to confront. But they must be confronted for issues concerning them are
critical to this society and must be understood by those who would seek to lead
it. A diverse campus enriches us all. The observance of Martin Luther King Day
provides us with the opportunity to recognize and to celebrate that fact.
Dartmouth has a charter commitment and a proud tradition of open access for
all. We need to live up to that tradition and ensure that we not only provide
equal access for all qualified students but that we also encourage a climate at
the College that is open and accepting of difference. An academic community can
afford to be no less than this.
MLK Archives
MLK
Keynote/Attendance History
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