All events Scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 1 have been postponed until Tuesday, Feb. 8, same time and place.

All events scheduled for Wednesday, Feb 2 have been postponed until Wednesday, Feb 9, same time and place. Keynote address will be in Chafee 271 @ 7:30 pm and will be streamed on URI Live!

KINGSTON, R.I. — Jan. 18, 2011 — The University of Rhode Island has planned a series of events to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 31 through Feb. 5, 2011. URI’s annual celebration and events feature the theme “Creating the Beloved Community On Campus and Beyond.”

This year, the Rev. John Dear, S.J., an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence, will keynote the annual Unity Luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 2 and a deliver a lecture, ” Dr. King and Creative Nonviolence — the Only Hope for the World,” that evening. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2008, Dear is a Jesuit Priest, peace activist, and former Executive Director of the Fellowship for Reconciliation. He is the author/editor of 25 books, including his autobiography, A Persistent Peace: One Man’s Struggle for a Nonviolent World.

Since 1986, the university community has observed the anniversary of the national MLK holiday through lectures, discussions, meditations, videos, workshops, music and dance performances, art exhibits, and other activities. While the official holiday is commemorated on the third Monday of January, the University’s celebration customarily takes place during the second week of the University spring semester to encourage maximum participation. Faculty are encouraged to integrate these enriching events into their courses and assignments.

Throughout the week, all members of the URI community are encouraged to participate in the URI Martin Luther King Week of Service Challenge that asks every student, administrator, faculty, and staff member to enact the core of Dr. King’s message — to engage in an act of service. Community members are then asked to briefly describe their act of service at the Multicultural Center web page (www.uri.edu/mcc), or to submit a video. This sharing of service will allow these works to be collectively presented as a part of the URI MLK observance on YouTube.

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Please download the detailed schedule of activities (http://www.uri.edu/mcc/MLKweek/2011/URI%20MLK%202011.pdf) for details and more information about each event and the speakers and sponsors.

Updated Schedule of Events Overview

Monday, Jan. 31
5 p.m., Hunger Banquet. Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum (101).
Tuesday, Feb. 1
4 p.m. Video and Discussion: Video excerpts from Citizen King, and discussion. Multicultural Center, Computer Classroom (005). *Postponed until Tuesday, Feb. 8, same time and place.
6 p.m. Students Discuss Service: Student Panel on Student Organization Service at URI. Panelists will discuss why they participate in service events and discuss what service projects are currently taking place at URI. Multicultural Center, Computer Classroom (005). *Postponed. It will be held in conjunction with Friday, 5 p.m. “Accelerating America” event, MCC Hardge Forum.
7 – 8.15 p.m. Interfaith Celebration: For this celebration, students, faculty and staff from diverse religious communities will come together to share readings, stories, songs, dances, prayers, meditations, and testimonies from their respective sacred traditions to commemorate the life and work of Dr. King. The evening’s special guest will be Thupten Tendar, a Buddhist Priest. Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum (101). *Postponed until Tuesday, Feb. 8, same time and place.
Wednesday, Feb. 2
12-1 p.m. Unity Luncheon. This event includes a keynote address by Rev. John Dear, author of A Persistent Peace: One Man’s Struggle for a Nonviolent World. The URI Office of the Chaplains will present the Ninth Annual Peacemaker Award honoring a student, student organization, or member of the URI academic community whose goals and activities express a commitment to the pursuit of peace and nonviolence. Memorial Union, Ballroom. *Postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 9, same time and place.
5:45-7 p.m. Sustained Dialogue Project, Multicultural Center, Conference Room (201). *Postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 9, same time and place.
7:30 p.m. Keynote Address: Rev. John Dear, “Dr. King and Creative Nonviolence – the Only Hope for the World.” Memorial Union, Ballroom. *Postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 9, same time, moved to Chafee 271.
Thursday, Feb. 3
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Women Leaders in the Nonviolence Movement, provides new perspectives on often unheralded women leaders and their contributions to the cause of global nonviolence. Multicultural Center, Computer Classroom (005).
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. — Songs for Civil Rights, URI’s “Cognitive Dissidents,” Professors Paul Bueno de Mesquita and Steve Wood, lead a musical journey in American civil rights history from slavery to the Freedom Rides, from lynching to landmark civil rights laws, and from national to international campaigns for social justice. Participants are invited to bring musical instruments and sing along. Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum (101).
4 – 5:45 p.m. – Kingian Nonviolence Workshop, led by certified Kingian nonviolence trainer, URI’s Sgt. Linda Palazzo, Supervising Campus Patrol Person, Narragansett Bay Campus Security. Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum (101).
Friday, Feb. 4
12 – 1 p.m. Yoga Class. Beginning and Intermediate Yoga, Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum (101).
5 -7 p.m. Accelerating America (Dinner and Video), Multicultural Center, Hardge Forum (101).
Saturday, Feb. 5
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Martin Luther King Day of Service. Hundreds of student volunteers are invited to gather at select sites in Providence and South Kingston for public service.

All of these events have been organized by the URI Multicultural Center, Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, Office of the Chaplains, Feinstein Center for Service Learning, Jumpstart URI, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Division of Student Affairs, Office of Student Life, Cognitive Dissidents, the Multicultural Center Dialogue Project, Anointed, Brothers On A New Direction (BOND), Hillel, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Multicultural Unity and Student Involvement Council (MUSIC), Powerful Independent Notoriously Knowledgeable (P.I.N.K.) Women, Sankofa, Student Alliance for the Welfare of Africa (SAWA), Student Nonviolent Involvement Committee (SNIC), Uhuru SaSa, Departments of Psychology and Communication Studies, Student Affairs Diversity Committee, URI Foundation, Parking Services, Printing Services, Memorial Union, and Housing and Residential Life.