The Washington University Chamber Choir will kick off the university’s 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17. John Baugh, the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor in Arts & Sciences, will deliver the keynote address at the virtual event.
Baugh’s address, “Equality matters: St. Louisan Contributions in the Quest for Racial Harmony,” will highlight individuals in the community who have made significant contributions in the fight to end segregation and racism.
This year’s theme draws on an excerpt from King’s “Conquering Self-Centeredness” sermon delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on Aug. 11, 1957. On that day, King shared that “an individual has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow horizons of his particular individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
“It’s important to reflect on those who made it possible to be where we are now,” said Rudolph Clay, chair of the 2021-22 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Committee and head of diversity initiatives and outreach services at University Libraries. “It’s looking forward and looking back.”
Chancellor Andrew D. Martin; Shantay Bolton, executive vice chancellor for administration and chief administrative officer; and the Rev. Callista Isabelle, director for religious, spiritual and ethical life, will provide remarks.
Amadi MuseMorris, president of the Association of Black Students, and Ranen Miao, Student Union president, will serve as co-hosts.
In addition to the Chamber Choir, the event will feature performances by Black Anthology, the university’s oldest cultural production, and Joseph Mosby, a first-year student who will share an original composition titled “Entropy.”
”We hope that people will be renewed by the performances and be inspired to go back and read King’s speeches,” Clay said.
The virtual event is free and open to the public. Register to attend on the Martin Luther King commemoration website.
School of Medicine celebration
The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the School of Medicine will host a week of panel discussions and service opportunities centered on cultivating empathy and change Monday, Jan. 17-Friday, Jan. 21.
Metzl to deliver keynote address
Jonathan Metzl, director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University, will give the virtual keynote address at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Metzl will discuss his book, “Dying of Whiteness: How Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland,” which explores how some white Americans’ embrace of right-wing policies has had negative consequences for their health. A conversation with David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Endowed Dean of the School of Medicine, will follow.
Learn more about event details and registration information on the medical school’s diversity website.
