Tributes to King at University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati will host events this month in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and to reflect on the civil rights leader's legacy.

JAN. 13

"A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Freedom Yesterday, Freedom Today, Freedom Forever," sponsored by UC's Division of Student Affairs and the African American Cultural & Resource Center (AACRC), will be held Tuesday, Jan. 13. The event begins at noon in the Great Hall of Tangeman University Center (TUC). C.G. Newsome, president and CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, will be the guest speaker. Light refreshments will be served, and all are encouraged to attend.

Before the event, a solidarity walk will begin at 11:30 a.m. from UC's Russell C. Myers Alumni Center to TUC.

Co-sponsors of the tribute event are the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services; the UC Alumni Association; the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD); the Office of Ethnic Programs and Services; the Multicultural Recruitment Office of Admissions; the Gen-1 Theme House; and the LGBTQ Center.

For more information, contact the AACRC's Eric Watford at 513-556-1177 or eric.watford@uc.edu.

JAN. 16

UC Health’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16, in Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building. The

program will feature

a keynote presentation by Cincinnati State President Dr. O’dell Owens, live music and recognition of UC Health associates and others who have made contributions toward a better society. The

event will be streamed live online

for those who cannot attend.

JAN. 19

At 9:15 a.m. Jan. 19, members of the UC community can take a complimentary bus ride from the Alumni Center on campus to the Freedom Center downtown for Cincinnati's 40th annual Commemorative Civil Rights March.

Reservations for the bus ride

can be made online via Campus Link, campuslink.uc.edu. For more information, contact SALD's Susie Mahoney at 513-556-6115 or susan.mahoney@uc.edu.

For more information on the march, contact Christina Brown with the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission at 513-352-3237 or chrc@cincinnati-oh.gov.

JAN. 20

UC Blue Ash College's Robert Gioielli, an assistant professor of history, will present a lecture on King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech from 3-4:30 p.m. Jan. 20 in 100 Walters Hall at UCBA.

For more information, call 513-745-5773.

ABOUT THE HOLIDAY

This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be held Jan. 19. UC offices will be closed in observance of the holiday.

Legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day was passed in 1983 in honor of the late civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. The federal holiday was first observed in 1986. It is annually held on the third Monday of January to be near King's birthday, Jan. 15.

King was born in 1929 in Atlanta. He was 39 when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. King would have turned 86 this year.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AT UC

The University of Cincinnati embraces diversity and inclusion as core values that empower individuals to transform their lives and achieve their highest potential. Find out

more about UC's commitment to diversity

online.

The Freedom Center's

Newsome will teach a course

exploring the history of black churches in America for UC's Department of Africana Studies in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences during Spring Semester 2015.