In celebration of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in recognition of the inauguration of President Barack Obama, UH presents The Evolution of a Dream: Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students, faculty and staff are invited to meet at the University Center between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to watch the broadcast of Washington D.C.’s inaugural events as well as videotaped messages from UH faculty and community leaders.
‘The (inauguration) itself is demonstrative of what Dr. King’s vision was,’ said Dorita Hatchett, the event’s development director and organizer. ‘(Obama) is a demonstration of a person who is in fact judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin.’
Hatchett said that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is typically a time for reflection, this year Americans can reflect on the importance of their own roles in bringing about the historic inauguration of the country’s first black president.
‘They can look back years from now and know that they were participants and they were together at a symbolic moment when there was once a time when we, as a people, could not do this,’ Hatchett said.
The inaugural events will include musical selections from The United States Marine Band, Aretha Franklin, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and others, as well as a poetry reading from Elizabeth Alexander and the inaugural address from President Obama.
Students are encouraged to come and go from the event in coordination with their first day of classes. The Evolution of a Dream: Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will conclude with remarks on King’s legacy from Ira Colby, the Dean of the Graduate College of Social Work.
‘The life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives us hope of the possible and clearly demonstrates that truth and justice will prevail,’ Colby said.
