Washington State University Vancouver will observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day next week with various free public events through Jan. 22 on the campus at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave.
“Educational Justice: Creating Awareness and Challenging Inequities Within Our School Systems” is the theme for WSU Vancouver’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 19 in Firstenburg Student Commons. The event includes music, children’s activities, interactive workshops and a keynote speaker.
• 9 a.m.: Student Trenelle Doyle will sing “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which has been referred to as the black national anthem.
• 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Four interactive workshops presented by faculty and staff on topics including racial equity in schools and increasing access to higher education.
• 11:30 a.m.: During a lunch provided free to participants, Charlene Williams, senior director for school performance at Portland Public Schools, will discuss educational equity.
Two-part film
The documentary “Visions of Abolition” will be shown in two parts Jan. 21 and 22 in Room 129 of Dengerink Administration Building. The film addresses mass incarceration, the war on drugs and the connections among slavery, capitalism and the prison-industrial complex. A discussion will follow each screening.
• Part One, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Jan. 20: “Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex” examines the racial and gender violence of the prison system.
• Part Two, 3 to 4:15 p.m. Jan. 21: “Abolition: Past, Present and Future” documents the recent history of the prison abolition movement and explores the meaning of abolitionist politics.
Additionally, at 7 p.m. Jan. 22, WSU Pullman’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will be streamed live in Firstenburg Student Commons.
Angela Y. Davis, activist and professor emerita of history of consciousness and feminist studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz, will speak.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is free and open to the public. RSVP to http://studentaffairs.vancouver.wsu.edu/student-diversity/mlk. Kids younger than 16 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Parking is free on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19. On regular weekdays, parking is available at meters and in the Blue Daily Pay lot for $3.
Community groups are invited to participate in the MLK 100 Club challenge by collecting 100 or more units of school supplies for the Evergreen and Vancouver school districts through Jan. 19. Donations can be dropped off at the Student Diversity Center in the Firstenburg Student Commons or at the event. Contact amanda.shannahan@vancouver.wsu.edu.
