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   from the issue of January 17, 2008

     
 
  Live the Dream

Rev. Monroe to open MLK week events

 UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

The Rev. Irene Monroe, a religion columnist and motivational speaker, will deliver the keynote address and Gwendolyn Combs will receive the 2008 Fulfilling the Dream Award Jan. 21 during UNL's observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

 
Monroe
 Monroe

A Ford Fellow and doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School, Monroe will present "Martin Luther King Jr.'s Expansive Dream," and Combs will be honored during the Chancellor's Program at 2 p.m., in the auditorium of the Nebraska Union. The program and lecture are free and open to the public and kick off a series of campus activities during King Week.

The Fulfilling the Dream Award was established in 1997 to honor individuals who have contributed to the UNL community or the wider Lincoln community by their exemplary action in promoting King's goals and vision. Combs, an assistant professor of management at UNL, will be recognized for her work as a mentor and role model for others, inspiring them to achieve high standards of public service and personal accomplishment. She will be cited for her abilities to serve as a mediator, diplomat and facilitator to build collaborative programs. She is recognized as an insightful teacher who invests much of her time and talent in helping others achieve, and has initiated and designed several undergraduate courses that focus on students learning about other cultures.

Monroe's outreach ministries include several religion columns she writes - "The Religion Thang" for In Newsweekly, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender newspaper in New England; "Faith Matters" for The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian magazine; and "Queer Take" for The Witness, a progressive Episcopalian journal. Her writings have also appeared in the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe, and her award-winning essay, "Louis Farrakhan's Ministry of Misogyny and Homophobia," was greeted with critical acclaim.

Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the Hip-Hop Summit and former executive director and CEO of the NAACP, will be the keynote speaker Jan. 26 at the 13th annual MLK Banquet sponsored by the Afrikan Peoples Union student organization. Founded in 2001, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of hip-hop music to serve as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the empowerment of youth.

The banquet wraps up the week's activities and begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Nebraska Union. Advance tickets are $10 for UNL students, $15 for the public, and can be purchased at the APU booth in the Union. Tickets at the door are $15 for students, $20 for the public.

Following is a schedule of other activities during MLK Week at UNL. All are free and open to the public and are at the Nebraska Union unless otherwise noted.

* Tuesday, Jan. 22: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., workshop, "Justice Begins in the Bedroom," Monroe explains "how abuse of power is integrally tied to sexual, racial, class and religious stereotypes and misinformation we act out in bed;" 6 p.m., LGBTQA panel, "Student Voices of Color."

* Wednesday, Jan. 23: 11:30 a.m., brown-bag lecture, "The Role of Music During Apartheid," Dawne Curry, UNL assistant professor of history and ethnic studies; 6 p.m., MLK Coffee House, Aundria Duncan-Wagner and Friends honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an evening of jazz and the reading of the annual MLK essays.

* Thursday, Jan. 24: 11:30 a.m., student play, "Big Words, Strong Words," directed by Willie Banks, Clinton Elementary School; 3:30 p.m., Nebraska East Union, film screening, "Citizen King," moderated by Gina Matkin, assistant professor of agricultural leadership education and communication, and Reshell Ray, assistant director of Student Involvement, UNL (refreshments follow).



GO TO: ISSUE OF JANUARY 17

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