{"id":1634,"date":"2017-10-04T13:09:46","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T17:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/oid\/?p=1634"},"modified":"2017-10-04T13:09:46","modified_gmt":"2017-10-04T17:09:46","slug":"pressrelease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/2017\/pressrelease\/","title":{"rendered":"SJU Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Delivered on Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Our Destinies Are Tied Together\u201d: SJU Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Delivered on Campus<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Tuesday, October 3, 2017<\/p>\n

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Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at Saint Joseph’s on Oct. 26, 1967.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 3, 2017) \u2014 On Thursday, Oct. 26, 1967, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a crowd of 1,500 students, faculty and community members on Saint Joseph’s campus in Alumni Memorial Field House (now Hagan Arena). Invited by student government leaders, King spoke for approximately 50 minutes and addressed the pressing issues of the day, including racial and economic injustice, the Vietnam War, the future of integration, the importance of enforcing civil rights legislation, and non-violent resistance.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the speech, King called for unity. \u201cI do want to mention finally that if we are to move on in the days ahead and bring into being a truly integrated society, we must recognize that\u00a0our destinies are tied together<\/em>,\u201d he said. \u201cThe black man must recognize that his destiny is tied up with the destiny of the white man, and the white man must recognize that his destiny is tied up with the destiny of the black man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than six months later, on April 4,1968, King would be assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had gone to address striking sanitation workers. He was 39 years old.<\/p>\n

Now, 50 years after King delivered\u00a0the speech at Saint Joseph’s, on Thursday, Oct. 26, the University will commemorate the anniversary with a daylong series of events. Titled\u00a0\u201cOur Destinies Are Tied Together,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the celebration includes a teach-in featuring Saint Joseph\u2019s faculty; a community reading of the speech by Pa. State Rep. Morgan B. Cephas, University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., and others; a panel of expert faculty members; and a film screening.\u00a0\u201cThe Clear Voice of Justice\u201d<\/a>\u00a0exhibit, which draws on Saint Joseph\u2019s archival items related to King and the speech, will open on Thursday, Oct. 12, and will be on display throughout the fall semester on the third floor of the Post Learning Commons and Drexel Library. Additional programming is being planned to run throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the many leaders, dignitaries and orators who have spoken publicly at Saint Joseph\u2019s, Dr. King stands alone in stature and impact,\u201d says University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. \u201cA historical figure for the ages, his message from that day in 1967 is a clarion call 50 years later. \u2018Our goal is freedom,\u2019 as Dr. King said, and it is incumbent upon us, as a Jesuit, Catholic university, that our words and actions contribute to the realization of that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monica Nixon, Ed.D., assistant provost for inclusion and diversity, adds that \u201cwhen Dr. King came to Saint Joseph\u2019s in 1967, we were a nation still embroiled in inequality in many social settings: in housing, schools, employment, wages and the law,\u201d she says. \u201cIt means a great deal that we were a college that extended the invitation to Dr. King, and that he chose to speak here to discuss solutions of policy, law and heart, to address both\u00a0the overt and insidious effects of racism and inequality. As we\u00a0we reflect on the work that still needs to be accomplished, this campus-wide event serves as a reminder that as a university community committed to justice, we have a particular responsibility to apply our knowledge, resources and influence to lead movements for equity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A schedule of the day\u2019s events is listed below.<\/p>\n

Teach-In,<\/a>\u00a08 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 2 p.m., at Campion Student Center, Presidents Lounge, (2nd floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three innovative teachers \u2014 C. Ken Weidner II, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, Emily Hage, Ph.D., associate professor of art, Susan Liebell, Ph.D., associate professor of political science \u2014 are opening their classes to the public, offering lessons especially geared to explore themes that King raised. Visit the\u00a0MLK Teach-In page<\/a>\u00a0for additional information.<\/p>\n

Community Reading of Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s 1967 Speech, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Campion Student Center, Doyle Banquet Hall (2nd floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Join SJU President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., Pa. State Rep. Morgan B. Cephas and others for a community reading of King’s 1967 remarks and a celebration of the 50th anniversary commemoration.<\/p>\n

Featured Panel: Where Do We Go from Here? Fulfilling Dr. King’s Call to Action, 4 to 6 p.m., Campion Student Center, Doyle Banquet Hall (2nd floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Expert panelists address the question of \u201cWhere do we go from here?,\u201d focusing on the modern-day status and relevance of the concerns King raised in 1967 regarding how to attack poverty and injustice by providing equal access to good schools, housing and jobs.<\/p>\n

Film Screening and Discussion:\u00a0Blaxploitalian,\u00a0<\/em>6\u00a0to 7:30 p.m., Forum Theater, Campion Student Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blaxploitalian<\/em>\u00a0(2016) by acclaimed director Fred Kuwornu explores Blackness in Italian cinema. The movie spans over 100 years of Italian film history (from silent and colonial-era movies up to the present day) to recount the little-known story of how actors of African descent contributed to Italian cinema. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with faculty in the modern languages department.<\/p>\n

“The Clear Voice of Justice” Exhibit (opening Thursday, Oct. 12, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and running throughout the fall semester), Post Learning Commons and Drexel Library, 3rd floor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Celebrate the opening of this exhibition, which draws on correspondence, photographs and other items from the University Archives to encourage reflection on the meaning of King’s visit to Saint Joseph’s University and his principal message of continued resolve to end social injustice. The exhibition was made possible by the resources of the University Library.<\/p>\n

Principal Curator: Christopher Dixon<\/p>\n

Co-Curators: Emily Hage, Ph.D., associate professor of art, and Randall Miller, Ph.D., professor of history<\/p>\n

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Media Contact<\/h3>\n
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Patricia Allen, Director of Communications, 610-660-3240,\u00a0pallen01@sju.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Event Contact<\/h3>\n
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Office of Inclusion and Diversity,\u00a0oid@sju.edu<\/a>, 610-660-1015<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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“Our Destinies Are Tied Together\u201d: SJU Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Delivered on Campus Tuesday, October 3, 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at Saint Joseph’s on Oct. 26, 1967. PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 3, 2017) \u2014 On Thursday, Oct. 26, 1967, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a crowd…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-1634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlk","tag-mlk"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.sju.edu\/mlk50\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}