Dream Week 2015

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with community service, a unity walk, participation in the City of Dallas Martin Luther King Day parade and opportunities for discussion. At the invitation of SMU student leaders, King spoke on campus on March 17, 1966. Listen to the speech or read the transcript.

2015 Unity Walk at SMU. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at SMU    • Hear or download Dr. King's speech at SMU    • Transcript of Dr. King's speech at SMU    • SMU Student Senate invitation to Dr. King     • Coverage by SMU student newspaper     Dr. King spoke to a standing-room-only audience in SMU's McFarlin Auditorium on March 17, 1966. The recording of Dr. King's speech was made with a hand-held recorder brought to McFarlin Auditorium that day by Gene Halaburt of Dallas, who graciously provided a copy to SMU. The people pictured behind Dr. King are (left to right): Bernard Lee, special assistant to Dr. King; Charles Cox, the chair of the Academic Committee, SMU Students' Association (now called the Student Senate); Bert Moore, vice president, SMU Students' Association; and Sanford Coon, Perkins School of Theology student. Dr. King's visit recalled The letter of invitation was sent to Dr. King by then-SMU Student Senate Vice President Bert Moore on behalf of the Student Senate. He recalls the times and riding from the airport to the campus with Dr. King. Charles Cox, who helped drive Dr. King from the airport to SMU, recalls the experience in an interview with KERA public radio. He was the chair of the Academic Committee of the SMU Students' Association in 1966 and was on the stage with Dr. King in McFarlin Auditorium. Listen to the interview.

Saturday, January 17, 2015:

SMU Participates in the Dallas Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
Time: 10 a.m.
Starting Point: Dallas City Hall
About: SMU administrators, faculty and students will participate in the City of Dallas parade marking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Participants include Charles Cox, who as an SMU student in 1966 introduced King when he spoke at the University, and SMU President R. Gerald Turner. Alumni of SMU's annual spring break Civil Rights pilgrimage, SMU Black Alumni members, SMU Multicultural Student Affairs representatives and SMU student athletes and coaches also will march in the parade.
More information

Sunday, January 18, 2015

SMU Student Coalition for Equity Meeting
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Room 243 of the Umphrey Lee Center
About: The Student Coalition for Equity is a grassroots social justice movement run for students by students. The group addresses issues of social injustice and seeks to create change from the bottom up.

Monday, January 19, 2015

MLK Day of Service
Time: 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center at assigned time.
Sign up: www.smu.edu/volunteer
Volunteer: www.smu.edu/volunteer
About: SMU students, faculty and staff will join others across the country in a national day of service. Opportunities include preparing the Vickery Meadows Learning Center for the spring semester, building ramps at homes of those with physical disabilities and helping with landscaping at local nonprofit centers. Breakfast, lunch and transportation provided.
Co-Sponsored with the Community Engagement and Leadership Center
More information

Free Screening of “Selma” for SMU students
Time: 7 p.m. 
Location: Angelika Film Center, Mockingbird Station, 5321 East Mockingbird Lane. 
About: In 1965, the Alabama city of Selma became the battleground in the fight for suffrage for African-Americans. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The screening will be followed by free pizza and a discussion with experts on the civil rights movement.
Registration: Please register at tiny.cc/SelmaMoMac.
Morrison-McGinnis Commons is sponsoring the screening.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

SMU’s Commemorative Unity Walk
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Starting Point: Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons
About: President R. Gerald Turner and student leaders lead the annual Unity Walk, a demonstration of the University's support of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work. All members of the SMU community are invited to join the walk from the flagpole on Bishop Boulevard to Perkins Chapel.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Real Talk: Conversations Around Diversity
Topic: Is Your Voice Being Heard? Social media activism: How effective is it?
Time: Noon
Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom West
About: Real Talk is a monthly discussion open to students and other members of the SMU community. The January discussion focuses on the effectiveness of activism through social media.

Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights
Time: 4 - 6 p.m. Exhibition Opening Reception
Location: Hope Lobby in the Owens Fine Arts Center
About: A graphic panel exhibition uses letter, speeches, political cartoons and news articles to showcase the career of South African anti-apartheid and human rights activist. Co-sponsored with the SMU Arts+Urbanism Initiative  and Embrey Human Rights Program. See the exhibit in Hope Lobby, Owens Fine Arts Center, 6101 Bishop Blvd. The exhibit runs through Feb. 20, 2015. 
Co-Sponsored with the SMU Arts+Urbanism Initiative & Embry Human Rights Program
More information: Fighter for Human Rights

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Film Screening: Mountains that take Wings: A Conversation with Angela and Yuri Kochiyama
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom West
About: "Mountains That Take Wings" shares exchanges in 1996 and 2008 between professor and writer Angela Davis and grassroots organizer and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Yuri Kochiyama. The film’s unique format honors the scope and depth of their knowledge on topics ranging from Jim Crow laws and Japanese American internment camps, to Civil Rights, anti-war, women’s and gay liberation movements, to today’s campaigns for political prisoners and prison reform.
Sponsored by the Women & LGBT Center

For More Information

Contact SMU's Office of Multicultural Affairs at 214-768-4580

Related Links:

• Playwright and SMU Alumnus Jonathan Norton examines "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
• The Dallas Morning News: Several days of MLK tributes set at SMU

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