Actor, singer and activist Harry Belafonte will kick off Vanderbilt University’s 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series with a 6 p.m. lecture Monday, Jan. 14, at the Student Life Center.
Belafonte’s lecture is preceded by a complimentary reception at 5 p.m. in the Student Life Center. The reception and lecture are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-seated basis. Parking is available at the Terrace Place Garage at 21st Avenue South and Terrace Place.
A live video Web cast will be available during the event on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s news network at www.vanderbilt.edu/news. Video of the lecture, which is also part of the university’s Chancellor’s Lecture Series, will not be available after the event.
Known as the “King of Calypso” for popularizing the Caribbean musical style in the 1950s and as an actor starring in movies such as Carmen Jones with legendary actress Dorothy Dandridge, Belafonte is a social activist and has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration.
The 80-year-old Belafonte was a close collaborator of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and is now a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. He made waves in 2006 by calling President Bush “the greatest terrorist in the world” before leading a delegation that met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He also has been outspoken in criticizing the U.S. embargo of Cuba.
The theme of the 2008 MLK Series is “Connecting Generations: Take A Stand!” Other events scheduled include a candlelight vigil on the MLK holiday on Jan. 21 at Benton Chapel on Vanderbilt’s campus. All series events are free and open to the public.
For a complete list of events scheduled see below. Information is also available at www.vanderbilt.edu/mlk.
2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series, Vanderbilt University
Connecting Generations: Take A Stand!
Jan. 9 through Feb. 1
Life in the Village: The Art of Stephen Babalola
A 28-year-old Vanderbilt doctoral candidate, Stephen Babalola paints richly colorful impressionistic celebrations of life as in the village of Idi-ogun, home of the Yoruba Tribe, in Nigeria, West Africa. Exhibit hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center
Opening reception 4 to 5 p.m., Monday, Jan. 14
Monday, Jan. 14
“Agonistic Stress and Hypertension Risk in Urban Youth: How Social Power Threats Damage Health”
4:10 p.m., Vanderbilt Kennedy Center/MRL Building, Room 241
Craig Ewart, Syracuse University professor of psychology, will give a lecture on his Project Heart studies, which investigate how adolescents’ and young adults’ difficult living environments can affect their later lives. Specifically, he looks at their social power and social competence foster patterns of behavior that can undermine their health as they get older. The studies are conducted in partnership with urban public high schools in Baltimore and Syracuse.
Monday, Jan. 14
Keynote Address – Harry Belafonte
5 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. lecture, Student Life Center Ballroom
Monday, Jan. 21
Candlelight Vigil featuring lecture by BET correspondent Touré
4 p.m. reception, 5 p.m. lecture, 6 p.m. candlelight vigil, Benton Chapel
Touré, an American novelist, music journalist, cultural critic and BET correspondent, will give a talk followed by a performance by the Jeremiah Generation Praise Team and a candlelight vigil. Touré’s articles have appeared in Rolling Stone, Vibe and The New Yorker, among others. This event is sponsored by Vanderbilt’s Organization of Black Graduate and Professional Students (OBGAPS), Bishop Johnson Black Cultural Center and Office of Religious Life.
Wednesday, Jan. 23
“A Recipe for Equal Justice in Today’s Society” – a lecture by Constance Slaughter-Harvey
3:30 to 5 p.m., Flynn Auditorium, Vanderbilt University Law School
Slaughter-Harvey was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Mississippi’s Law School and to integrate the Mississippi Bar Association. She faced prejudice and discrimination from the all-white, all-male law students. She went on to become assistant secretary of state in Mississippi and was appointed to the Presidential Scholars Commission by President Jimmy Carter. She currently runs her own law firm specializing in civil rights cases.
Media Contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu