This year, พรพรสำฦตโs Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration included two weeks of robust programming, Jan. 21โFeb. 1, centered on the theme โThriving in the Current Times.โ
โThriving involves the wisdom of the community,โ said LeAnna Rice, director of the and chair of the MLK Committee. In keeping with this theme the committee organized workshops aimed at promoting healing and self care, as well as events focused on career and networking for people of color.
Other events included a discussion on student activism led by Bennie Guzman โ17 and a workshop led by the Hamilton Area Anti-Racism Coalition (HAARC). Participants were invited to share their experiences in navigating race in Hamilton, N.Y. and contributed to an action plan for anti-racism work in the community.
The curators of the Longyear Museum of Anthropology and the Picker Art Gallery, Christy DeLair and Nicholas West, hosted a discussion on โEnvisioning Thriving Museums.โ Students, faculty, and staff gathered to explore strategies for increasing diversity and creating inclusive museums.
พรพรสำฦต also enjoyed a visit from Art Force Five, a program based in Alfred, N.Y. committed to helping communities address conflict through art. The entire พรพรสำฦต community was invited to participate in painting a tile as part of a mosaic depicting Adam Clayton Powell Jr. โ30. The completed mosaic will be on display in the ALANA Cultural Center for several months before being installed in a gallery in Harlem.
The celebration culminated with a keynote speech by noted author and poet Nikki Giovanni on Jan. 31. More than 300 students, faculty, staff, and community members braved the polar vortex to attend Giovanniโs lecture and book signing.
Giovanni charmed the audience with her wit, candor, and compassion for the human condition. Her speech was filled with stories, poems, and laughter. โSometimes people forget that to be black is a wonderful thing,โ she said. โLife is about joy, do something that makes you happy, do your job no matter how small it may seem. Our job is to make life a little better.โ