January 11, 2012 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Location: West Conference Room, Rackham Graduate School, 915 E. Washington Street, Arbor, MI 48109
Speaker: R. L’Heureux Lewis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies, City College of New York – CUNY

This conversation will address the divides that traditionally separate activists and scholars as well as separate different communities of color. Drawing on examples of collaboration the event will go beyond diagnosis of differences by identifying strategies for moving ahead towards social justice.

Dr. R. L’Heureux Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at the City College of New York – CUNY. His research concentrates on issues of educational inequality, the role of race in contemporary society, and mental health well-being. Through his writing, speaking, and commentary his work analyzes some of the most pressing issues facing the African Diaspora. With specializations in race and ethnic relations, his research and activism grapple with the areas of education, youth culture, public policy, and mental health. His commentary has been featured in media outlets such as US World News Report, Diversity in Higher Education, National Public Radio, theRoot.com and the Detroit Free Press.

Following the keynote address, an interactive discussion will feature a panel of current U-M graduate students and faculty members who will reflect on the relationship between scholarship and activism in contemporary U.S. Communities.

Panelists include:

• Maria Cotera, Associate Professor of Latino Studies, American Culture Program and Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
• Allison Roman, Graduate Student, School of Social Work
• Davin Phoenix, Graduate Student Instructor, Political Science and Graduate Student Instructor, InterGroup Relations, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
• Stephen Ward, Associate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies and Associate Professor of Residential College, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
• Moderator: Evans Young, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Sponsored by: Rackham Graduate School with additional sponsorship from: Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, Department of Sociology, Students of Color of Rackham, Rackham Student Government, and Becoming Educators of Tomorrow.

For more information: Contact Lynne Shivers at lshivers@umich.edu

January 16, 2012 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

January 16, 2012, will mark the 14th year for the University of Michigan’s MLK Children and Youth Program.  Since its beginning in 1998, the MLK Children and Youth Program has attracted approximately 8,000 K-12 student attendees from school communities throughout southeastern Michigan.

All attendees during these comemorable years have participated in a range of activities filled with fun, creativity, dialogue and entertainment.  These activities included storytelling, guided discussions and group projects, skits, rap poetry, and a range of musical performances.  Once again, the School of Education, School of Social Work, and the Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives invite all students throughout the K-12 school-communities to participate in another MLK Children and Youth Day filled with a range of activities planned specifically to celebrate and commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

To register please visit the website at http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/mlk/home

January 16, 2012 10:00 am

Location: Hill Auditorium

Free & Open to the Public

Michele Norris, an award-winning journalist with more than two decades of experience, hosted NPR’s newsmagazine All Things Considered, public radio’s longest-running national program, with Robert Siegel and Melissa Block. Norris began hosting the program in December, 2002.

In September 2010, Norris released her first book, The Grace of Silence: A Memoir, which focuses on how America talks about race in the wake of Barack Obama’s presidential election, and explores her own family’s racial legacy.  It has been called one of the best books of 2010 by The Christian Science Monitor.

Before coming to NPR, Norris was a correspondent for ABC News, a post she held from 1993 – 2002. As a contributing correspondent for the “Closer Look” segments on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Norris reported extensively on education, inner city issues, the nation’s drug problem, and poverty. Norris has also reported for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times. Her Washington Post series about a six-year-old who lived in a crack house was reprinted in the book Ourselves Among Others, along with essays by Václav Havel, Nelson Mandela, Annie Dillard, and Gabriel García Márquez.

A four-time Pulitzer Prize entrant, Norris has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2010 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for she and co-host Steve Inskeep’s program, “The York Project: Race and the 2008 Vote”; the 2009 Journalist of the Year award from the National Association of Black Journalists; the National Association of Black Journalists’ 2006 Salute to Excellence Award, for her coverage of Hurricane Katrina; the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Achievement Award; and the 1990 Livingston Award. In 2007, she was honored with Ebony Magazine’s eighth Annual Outstanding Women in Marketing & Communications Award, and in 2009 was named one of Essence Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Black Americans.” Norris also earned both an Emmy Award and Peabody Award for her contribution to ABC News’ coverage of 9/11. She is on the judging committee for both the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the Livingston Awards. Norris is also a frequent guest on The Chris Matthews Show on NBC News.

Norris attended the University of Wisconsin, where she majored in electrical engineering, and graduated from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she studied journalism. She lives in Washington, DC, and is married to Broderick Johnson. She has two young children and a step son who attends college in California.

January 16, 2012 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Location: Bickner Auditorium (CCRB Room 3735, entrance off Geddes Avenue)
Speaker: Dr. Ketra Armstrong

Dr. Ketra Armstrong is a current Sport Management professor in the School of Kinesiology. Her interests lie in sports marketing, sport consumer behavior, the impact of race and/or gender on sport consumption, and sport behaviors of women and consumers of African descent. Dr. Armstrong’s talk will explore “Activism and the Character of Intelligence…In the Spirit of Sport (Reflections of the Dream of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)”, and will be followed by a Q&A session. Some of Dr. Armstrong’s research currently focuses on race, ethnicity, and gender in sport, and she also has various articles published about those topics. This event is sponsored by Kinesiology Student Government.

January 16, 2012 11:45 am
Location: Dow Auditorium, Towsley Center, U-M Medical Center
Speaker: Brian D. Smedley, Ph.D., Vice-president & Director, Health Policy Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Many racial and ethnic minority groups continue to face poorer health relative to national averages from birth to death. The root cause of these inequities, many public health scholar argue, can be found in patterns of residential segregation and the inequitable distribution of health risks and resources across communities. This talk will explore these patterns and argue for a more robust approach to place-based investments, as well as housing mobility, to promote the right to good health for all. In many respects the effort to build a health equity movement mirrors the efforts of Dr. King to build a racial and economic justice movement.

For more information visit the website at http://med.umich.edu/medschool/diversity/index.html

Sponsored by the University of Michigan Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Public Health, Social Work, the College of Pharmacy, and the Hospitals and Health Centers

January 16, 2012 11:45 am to 1:00 pm
Location: Michigan League, Koessler Room (3rd floor)

The insights we gain from learning about others’ experiences in social change are valuable. In addition, it is important for us to reflect on what role we can play in social change. This session will serve as an opportunity for insightful, personal conversations focused on exploring each of our connections to social justice and social change. Join us immediately following the keynote. Refreshments will be provided.

Sponsored By: LSA Honors Program

January 16, 2012 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Location: Rackham Amphitheatre
Speaker: Panel of U-M Middle East Experts

With the demise of Tunisia’s president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14, 2011, the protests now called the ‘Arab Spring’ had scored their first success. Protests had begun in Algeria at that time, and a few days later spread to Egypt, leading to Husni Mubarak’s resignation on Jan. 23rd. New forms of protest, and a new powerful demand for civil rights and dignity emerged, as the world was watching in surprise. One year later, a panel of UM experts will ask: What has really happened? What did the uprisings achieve? Where did they fail? What are the prospects for the near and distant future?
Panelists: Mark Tessler, Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor of Political Science and Vice Provost for International Affairs Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History and Director, Center for South Asian Studies Wijdan Alsayegh, Department of Near Eastern Studies Sarai Aharoni, Schusterman Visiting Israeli Lecturer, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies Atef Said, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology Susanne Koelbl, foreign correspondent, Der Spiegel (Berlin), 2011-2012 Knight-Wallace Fellow

January 16, 2012 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: Rackham Auditorium. Open to Public.
Speaker: Sarah Jones

Business & Finance Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation is featuring a keynote presentation by Sarah Jones.

Sarah Jones is a Tony Award and Obie Award winning playwright, performer and poet and has been called a “master of the genre” by the New York Times. Sarah grew up in Queens, New York and attended the prestigious United Nations International School. At the UN School, while speaking to her fellow students she discovered her gift for mimicry, and also gained insight into the lives of those in other countries. In 2000, Sarah debuted “Women Can’t Wait” a play about injustice and oppression and has since written and performed four multi-character solo shows, including the 2004 Broadway show “Bridge and Tunnel” which is a study of 14 different characters that explores the theme of intolerance and injustice. These characters are derived from her rich experience in a multicultural environment and are the driving force behind her work in Diversity and Inclusion. Sarah is passionate about the humanity of all her characters and carefully incorporates authentic aspects of the cultural style, accent, dialect, and physicality of real individuals. Sarah’s performance will make us reflect on our own individual cultural experiences, and add to our ability to interact with the many cultures that make up the University of Michigan. Join us for an entertaining, educational and inspiring performance by Sarah Jones.

January 16, 2012 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
Speaker: Miriam Aukerman, Jessica Ashmore, Sharon Brett, and more

Over 45,000 people are listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. In 2010 Michigan ranked third in the nation for the highest number of registered sex offenders per population. The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) presents a panel of experts – Miriam Aukerman of the ACLU, Jessica Ashmore (a juvenile sex offender probation officer), one or more survivors of sexual offense, a University law school professor, and many more – who will speak and then lead a discussion on this difficult, painful, and very complicated subject. Please join us in the Pendleton Room of the Michigan Union from 1pm to 3pm to explore this subject.

For more information please visit the website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/pcap/

January 16, 2012 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Location: Michigan Union Ballroom, Free to the Public

Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football is a feature-length documentary film follows a predominantly Arab-American high school football team from a working-class Detroit suburb as they practice for their big cross-town rivalry game during Ramadan, a month when Muslims traditionally fast every day from sunrise to sundown, revealing a community holding onto its Islamic faith and the American Dream while struggling to gain acceptance in post 9/11 America. It is an inspirational story of an immigrant community’s resilience, that attempts to answer the question, “Who is an American?”

For more information about “Fordson”, please visit the website at http://fordsonthemovie.com/story.php

Sponsors: The University Library, University Housing, The Law Library, The School of Information, The Bentley Historical Library, OAMI

January 16, 2012 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: UM Detroit Center, 3663 Woodward Ave., Suite 150 Detroit, MI 48201
Speaker: Panel Discussion

One of the most pressing challenges facing Detroit is the perception that the city’s neighborhoods are crumbling and there is a significant lack of community involvement. “It’s Going On in the Hood” is a Panel Discussion about various efforts to aid Detroit’s Neighborhoods in community development. Panelists represent a diverse grouping of community development organizations dedicated to improving the neighborhoods of the city and the quality of life of those that reside in them. Participants will learn about on-going efforts and discuss new and different approaches.

Sponsored By: U-M Detroit Center

For more information visit the website at http://detroitcenter.umich.edu

January 16, 2012 1:30 pm
Location: Blau Auditorium, Stephen M. Ross School of Business
Speaker: Adrian M. Fenty: Former Mayor, Washington D.C.

One of the youngest mayors of a major metropolitan U.S. city, rising political figure Adrian Fenty captured the nation’s attention during his term as Mayor of the District of Columbia. Celebrated for his leadership in urban education reform, the public school system in the D.C. had been troubled for years with poor student test performance scores and graduation rates among the lowest in the nation.

January 16, 2012 2:00 pm
Location: MSA Chambers, 3909 Michigan Union
Speaker: CAPS Staff

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”  J. Krishnamurti

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”  Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Join staff at U of M’s Counseling and Psychological Services for a round table discussion of the crucial nature of social justice objectives to the realization of both individual and collective emotional well-being. Discussion will involve an examination of how traditionally underrepresented communities define their own emotional well-being and resiliency narratives, including resiliency to intergenerational/historical oppression and present “day-to-day” micro-aggressions related to one’s social identity group membership. Particular focus will be placed on the necessary integration of these diverse voices and narratives into overall student wellness initiatives in a higher education setting.

January 16, 2012 2:00 pm
Location: Hill Auditorium

Sponsored By: School of Music, Theatre & Dance

January 16, 2012 3:00 pm
Location: UM Law School, Aikens Commons, first floor Hutchins Hall
Speaker: A Panel Discussion with leaders from Detroit City government and nonprofit sectors

Join us for a panel discussion with Charles Pugh (President, Detroit City Council), Shirley Stancato (CEO, New Detroit), Bankole Thompson (Senior Editor, Michigan Chronicle), and Daniel Varner (Executive Director, Excellent Schools of Detroit); Moderated by Prof. Angela Dillard (Director, Department of Afroamerican and African Studies).  Also including Professor Dana Thompson (Law School, Director of Entrepreneurship Clinic and professor with the Urban Communities Clinic).  Discussion will conclude with a Q&A period.  Open to the public.

For more information please visit the Law School’s webpage at  http://www.law.umich.edu/Pages/default.aspx

January 16, 2012 3:00 pm
Location: Diag

The Michigan Community Scholars Program is hosting their annual Circle of Unity on the Diag to give the University and surrounding community an opportunity to reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr’s Dream, where that Dream has come, and what still needs to be done. Participants will watch and engage in the event through various performances and have an opportunity to share their own dream for the future.

Sponsored By: Michigan Community Scholars Program

January 16, 2012 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Location: Stamps Auditorium
Speaker: TBA

In an effort to pay homage to the memory of Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is our desire to construct and implement a program that seeks to “recapture” the dream that Dr. King once envisioned. A Tribute to Reverend Dr Jr.: Bringing the Dream to Life will consist of artist of various forms using their talents to show appreciation for the vision of Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Performers will range from local and campus artist of numerous cultures, showing that the vision of Dr. King reached far beyond just African-Americans. The evening will conclude with our headline
performer(s) (TBA).

January 16, 2012 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Location: Educational Conference Center (ECC) School of Social Work - 1080 S. University

During his 60-year career as an activist, organizer and “troublemaker,” Bayard Rustin formulated many of the strategies that propelled the American civil rights movement. In 1963, Rustin brought his unique skills to the crowning glory of his civil rights career: his work organizing the March on Washington, the biggest protest America had ever seen. But his open homosexuality forced him to remain in the background, marking him again and again as a “brother outsider.”

A reflection and dialogue facilitated by UM students with a personal friend and colleague of both Dr. King and Bayard Rustin follows the viewing of the film.

Sponsored by School of Social Work and University of Michigan Spectrum Center

January 16, 2012 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Location: Room 1040, Dana Building, 440 Church St., Ann Arbor
Speaker: Peggy M. Shepard, executive director and co-founder of WE ACT For Environmental Justice (WE ACT)

Peggy M. Shepard, executive director and co-founder of WE ACT For Environmental Justice (WE ACT), gives the annual MLK Lecture on Environmental Justice. The title of her talk is “Advancing Environmental Health & Justice: A Community Perspective.”

Shepard has successfully combined grassroots organizing, environmental advocacy and environmental health research to become a national leader in advancing the perspective of environmental justice in urban communities to ensure that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment extends to all. Shepard was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science from Smith College last May for two decades of leadership in environmental justice and urban sustainability.

Shepard is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT For Environmental Justice (WE ACT), based in West Harlem, which has a 22-year history of engaging Northern Manhattan residents in community-based planning and campaigns to affect environmental protection and environmental health policy locally and nationally.

WE ACT’s work has provided a clear road map of how a community based organization can positively impact local, state and national policymaking on environmental justice, public healthand equity issues. A recipient of the Calver Award from APHA, the 10th Annual Heinz Award for the Environment and the Jane Jacobs Medal for Lifetime Leadership from the Rockefeller Foundation, Shepard is a past chair of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). WE ACT’s advocacy and research contributed to the NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) retrofitting its entire diesel bus fleet.

WE ACT hosts the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum on Climate Change, a national coalition of 40 organizations representing 16 states that have convened to develop a unified voice and position on climate change policies, and WE ACT coordinates the NYS Transportation Equity Alliance, a statewide coalition of 100 groups working to ensure equitable transportation policy locally and nationally. WE ACT’s first campaign achieved the retrofit of the North River Sewage Treatment Plant and a lawsuit settlement of a $1.1 million environmental benefits fund. A 10-year campaign spurred by a community-based planning process has resulted in the construction of the Harlem Piers at 125th Street on the Hudson River, which opened in 2010.

Sponsored By: School of Natural Resources and Environment, Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, Department of African American Studies, Center for the Education of Women is a co-sponsor through the Frances and Sidney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund

January 16, 2012 4:00 pm 4:00 pm
Location: 1360 East Hall, 530 Church Street
Speaker: James H. Curry

Title: Mentoring in the Mathematical Sciences: Why should we care?
Abstract: Good intentions are necessary but not sufficient when mentoring students. And as noted by several scholars: “Mathematics provides the foundational reasoning and problem solving skills necessary for science, engineering and business majors” (Goodaire, 2002, p.1). This is at a time when the technological demands of our society require increasing needs for science and engineering majors. However, the number of degrees earned in most math, science, and engineering fields is remaining steady or declining.
For me these ideas beg the question: What are some concrete steps toward best practices in mentoring students and especially underrepresented students so they can participate in a very important future?
In this lecture I will discuss issues of mentoring in the mathematical sciences and embed it in discussions about image processing.

January 16, 2012 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Location: Couzens Residence Hall Multipurpose Room (room 1510)

“The logical consequence of study and thought is action. Otherwise, this whole business of education is a sham,” stated Western Michigan University President James Miller when introducing Martin Luther King, Jr. for a 1963 address on social justice. With this in mind, how can and do we translate cognition and awareness into action and practice? MLK recognized that peace is not passive, but active, noting: “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” So how can we demonstrate peace in action locally and globally and what are our challenges? How do cultural norms here and at home affect our action? This two-hour session will explore these questions through interactive engagement and dialogue, and will provide concrete tools to build capacity to translate thought into action here and at home.

January 17, 2012 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Location: A+A Auditorium (Rm 2104) Art + Architecture Building(North Campus)
Speaker: 4 panelists: Kurt Metzger- Data Driven Detroit; Melvin Washington- Phoenix Group Consultants Inc.; Charity Hicks- Detroit Black Community Food Security Network; Toni Moceri- Macomb County Commissioner, District 1 (Warren)

The geography of race and class in metropolitan Detroit is rapidly changing. Black families are migrating to once white suburbs, while incentives draw young professionals to the majority-minority city. How are investment patterns affecting racial transition? How are communities responding to demographic changes across the region? Is this a departure from longstanding segregation and inequality, or the same injustices in a new guise? This panel will bring together a diverse group of local leaders to address how the Detroit region might overcome its legacy of separate and unequal societies to fulfill King’s vision of a “beloved community.”

January 18, 2012 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Location: Room 4448 East Hall
Speaker: Jason D. Lee- Executive Director of Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program Derek Aguierre- Executive Director of Racquet Up Detroit Lucie Howell- Center for Engineering Diversity and Outreach (CEDO) Academic Program Advisor Mary Beth Damm- Program Director for CEDO Pipeline Development Nicky Schumack-Program Coordinator at Wellspring Detroit

School After-School is a panel discussion on the feasibility of extracurricular academic programs in and serving the Detroit community. The question we ask is “How effective are these programs in addressing the achievement gap?”. The panel consists of the following esteemed program coordinators:

The program will be taking place as a collaboration between the University of Michigan’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter and The Detroit Partnership (DP). The program encompasses the missions of both organizations, and serves to educate and encourage our fellow University students at our level to continue volunteering for academic enrichment programs through community outreach.

Dinner will be catered afterwards by Southern Fires Restaurant in Detroit.

January 18, 2012 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Local Preschool

Join us to read to preschool children in the local Ann Arbor community and share Martin Luther King’s story with them. We will train volunteers to read a selected story and then complete an age appropriate service task. This will be a fun opportunity to share King’s message of service with our local youth.
There is a MANDATORY training on January 18th (held on campus) from 7:30-8:30pm.

For more information or to sign up, please email kayleah@umich.edu

January 19, 2012 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Location: Ehrlicher Room, 3100 North Quad
Speaker: Dr. Keith B. Williams

This presentation will overview implemented mechanisms designed to address the increase in the number of minority students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Clearly, there are a myriad of benefits associated with increasing the diversity of students obtaining STEM degrees, namely a different perspective and approach to science, an increase in the specific scientific community, a reflection of society, expanded cultural competence and global intelligence, and an effective support to intellectual growth.

This presentation will present the elements developed over the years by the Wayne State University Department of Chemistry’s Office of Minority Student initiatives, as it has worked closely at the university with NSF’s MI-LSAMP and IGERT programs, Wayne Excel, and student organizations such as the WSU Black Convocation, the WSU College of Science Senate, and the WSU student affiliate of the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), along with a number of pre-college initiatives.

Dr. Keith B. Williams is Director of Minority Student Initiatives for the Chemistry Department at Wayne State University. He has over twenty years of experience in the area of science academic support at the precollege and college levels.

January 19, 2012 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Location: North Quad Opportunity Space, Room 2435 North Quad (entrance is on State Street)

Please join us for an interactive discussion and interactive presentation about ways to use Social Media to create effective Social Change.

This event will empower students,faculty, and staff to get involved locally and globally to address social issues that they are passionate about. In addition, it will give participants an opportunity to reflect on past social movements to explore if “social media” is the most effective tool to use in the present to promote change.

January 19, 2012 7:00 pm
Location: Blau Auditorium, Ross School of Business
Speaker: Rev. Gregory Boyle, Founder and CEO, Homeboy Industries

Reverend Boyle started Homeboy Industries, an innovative nonprofit corporation in L.A. that runs several smaller businesses that employ former gang members and at-risk youth. With taglines like “nothing stops a bullet like a job,” revenue generated through the profit enterprises offset free community services such as mental therapy for gang members, housing assistance, job counseling, and tattoo removal. The businesses range from a multimillion dollar silkscreen business to a bakery and a café.

For more information visit http://www.nonprofit.umich.edu/news_events/news.php

January 19, 2012 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Location: Northwood Houses Community Center, 1588 Cram Circle

Music moves movements! Bring along a song whose lyrics inspire you about some form of social justice activism. Come to tell the story of your experience as an activist, or to hear others, all of whom are building a new generation of activism. Wherever you’re an activist, that’s your “beat.”

January 19, 2012 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location: Lydia Mendelssohn Theater located in the Michigan League, Free to the Public

Step Afrika is the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping. In stepping, the body is used as an instrument to create intricate rhythms and sounds through a combination of footsteps, claps and spoken word. The tradition grew out of the song and dance rituals practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s. Stepping comes from a long and rich tradition in African-based communities that use movement, words and sounds to communicate allegiance to a group. The company is critically-acclaimed for its efforts to promote an understanding of and appreciation for stepping and the dance tradition’s use as an educational tool for young people worldwide.

For more information on Step Afrika, please visit the website at http://www.stepafrika.org/home.htm

Sponsors: The University Library, The School of Music, The School of Information, The Bentley Historical Library, OAMI

January 20, 2012 12:00 am to 12:00 pm
Location: The Michigan Union Ballroom
Speaker: N/A

Beat battles began shortly after the birth of hip-hop, providing a Coliseum for DJs to scratch and spin against other DJs in hopes of winning local recognition. The beauty of the battle is that anyone can enter, regardless of skill or fame. F.O.K.U.S. sees the beat battle as an ideal venue for local artists and members within a specific community – namely, the University of Michigan community – to come together and experience a culture that celebrates innovation and collaboration in conjunction with competition. The purpose of this year’s Beat Battle is to produce a platform for individuals to explore the way musical genres have interacted and influenced one another historically to create the music we listen to today. Under the blanket categories of electronic music and hip-hop, DJs will mix their own beats using songs F.O.K.U.S. has dubbed transformational from genres such as soul, funk, pop, classical, jazz, and world. Judges will vary in musical experience and will give historical and social background for the songs being remixed.The audience will listen, dance, and judge the beats together. By creating an inclusive and fun environment, F.O.K.U.S. aims to start conversations and create links between communities that might not normally be in the same room. The guy you imagine to be a hip-hop head is actually nodding along to Cher while the woman you would never imagine to see at an Immortal Technique concert is singing all the words. The idea of the Beat Battle as a part of the the Symposium is a fresh take on continuing the legacy of Dr. King; one of Dr. King’s messages to the nation, and the world, was to promote diversity and open spaces for all people. Hip-hop has consistently promoted and maintained this openness in its fan-base and in its creators. Its MC’s and beatmakers speak almost every language and reach every point of the globe, to the small housing projects of Sweden to the villages of Africa to the cities of Japan and Seoul and to the corn-growing communities in Iowa. No longer is hip-hop confined to the American city. The Beat Battle places emphasis on skill and ability, rather than style of dress, faith or ethnicity. With such participation, a natural conversation and recognition of the true essence of community and diversity will develop.

January 21, 2012 11:00 am to January 22, 2012 3:00 am January 21, 2012 11:00 am to January 22, 2012 5:00 pm
Location: 2105 A and B in the Michigan Union
Speaker: Students, Teachers, and Community Members

A daylong Teach-in with speakers and discussion on the history of mass movements. Topics including the protest and labor movements; The current crisis, both economic and social; how students movements have been an important core for occupy; and visions for the future of both occupy and our society in general. Each talk will include large discussion/ Q&A period to encourage group dialogue on the issues discussed.

January 21, 2012 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Location: Educational Conference Center, School of Social Work

These awards honor students for their commitment to social justice and the spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sponsored by:

January 26, 2012 5:00 pm
Location: Michigan Union Pond Room
Speaker: Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Anna Julia Cooper Professor of English, Spelman College

Professor Guy-Sheftall is founding director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center and Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies at Spelman College. Her lecture will focus on Coretta Scott King’s vision of “the beloved community” which Martin Luther King Jr. articulated so eloquently as a civil rights icon. Repositioning Coretta Scott King, mostly known as Dr. King’s widow, as a warrior for social justice, this talk will provide a fuller portrait of her extraordinary and largely invisible life, especially her political activism around a broad range of social issues: peace, racism, gay and lesbian rights, sexism, and militarism.

Sponsored By: The Women’s Studies Department & Institute for Research on Women and Gender

For more information visit the website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/women

January 26, 2012 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Location: Rackham Auditorium
Speaker: Pettra Kuppers and Neil Marcus

Petra Kuppers is a community artist and disability culture activist, Artistic Director of The Olimpias Performance Research Series, and Associate Professor of English at the University of Michigan. She also teaches on the low residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College.

Neil Marcus is a performance and visual artist, and poet. “Disability is an art – an ingenious way to live.” This award-winning playwright, actor, poet, and performance artist earned national acclaim when he crafted his experiences as a man living with dystonia, into a powerful staged work. Since then, Marcus’ passionate stance toward life has infused his artistic choices. Believing that “life is a performance,” he has cast his creative net wide, participating in a range of diverse projects.