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s a part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Week, taking place Jan. 19 through 23, Elizabethtown College hosts Ann Marie Kirk, director of Art for Justice, as she speaks about prison art and the partnership exhibit taking place at the College and at Philadelphia Free Library.
Her talk, “Promoting Justice & Humanity thru Art,” begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, in the College’s Brinser Lecture Room in Steinman Center.
The exhibit of prisoner art, which aims to stimulate public dialogue on how to prevent crime, reduce levels of incarceration and find effective, humane ways to improve the criminal justice system, is on display beginning Monday, Jan. 19, in the second-floor hallway of the College’s Brossman Commons. The exhibit reception is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23.
His contributions are still being felt today.”
MLK Week started at Elizabethtown College in 2005 as a one-day celebration to commemorate the civil rights work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Elizabethtown College remembers his life, especially with the Day of Service,” said Brandon Jackson, coordinator of multicultural programs and residential communities in the College’s Residence Life office.
The Day of Service is a nationwide opportunity for schools and businesses, closed on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, to take part in community service endeavors. At E-town, students spend part of the day at one of four organized service opportunities near Elizabethtown.
The College also opens its doors to community members to participate in on-campus MLK events. “Anytime you have a college in a community, you have access points for education, to college culture or arts programs that small towns might not have. … We are part of their community. They are part of our community. Our events are their events.” A full list of MLK-related events is available online. Those events open to the public can be found on the College’s Arts and Culture calendar.
“(Martin Luther King Jr.) is historical but not ancient,” said Jackson, noting that the man’s inspiration and action, just 50 years ago, changed the course of history. “His contributions are still being felt today. Who is to say, if it had not been for him, where we would be now. … Thankfully we don’t have to think about it.”