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MLK Day 2021

Martin Luther King Jr. Day at St. Olaf is an opportunity to honor Rev. King’s lessons by carving intentional spaces to engage in discourse around social justice, oppression, community, and social change. It is a time for our community to come together and work in service and support those who are disenfranchised.
George Floyd Memorial, Minneapolis MN

Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to join in action, activities, and conversation throughout month of January and on Monday, January 18, 2021 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Overview of Events

Now – MLK Day | Connect Four Social Justice Challenge

  • Students, faculty, and staff are invited to commemorate MLK Day 2021 by taking social action in a variety of ways to address racial injustice. Complete four squares in a row to complete your Connect Four board and be entered into a drawing for a $20 donation of goods and products on your behalf. Learn more

January 14 | “We All Every One of Us” Readings

January 18 | MLK Day

10:10am-10:30 am | Chapel Time

  • A virtual service featuring talks by Associate Professor of English Joan Hepburn and Joshua Wyatt ‘21, as well as music by Noel Patterson ‘21, Audrey Lane-Getaz ‘22, and the Viking Chorus.
  • Location: Live stream

11:00 am | Deliberate Dialogues: Engaging Students in Social Justice Conversations

  • Students will be led by peer facilitators from Assistant Professor of Religion Anthony Bateza’s course through discussions on race and equity using selected guides from the Living Room Conversation model for deliberative dialogue, including “Being White in the Antiracist Movement,” “Righteousness and Relationships,” “The Golden Rule in Politics,” and “Race-Faith-Communities.”
  • Sign up for the Dialogue here. 

3:00 pm | Instagram Live Announcement of Connect Four Social Justice Challenge winner

  • Winner will also be contacted via email

4:00 pm | MLK Speaker Ruby Sales:We All Every One of Us” 

  • This year’s MLK Day speaker, Ruby Nell Sales, was active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s. She is the founder of the SpiritHouse Project, a national nonprofit that uses the arts, research, education, action, and spirituality to bring diverse peoples together to work for racial, economic, and gender justice, as well as for spiritual maturity. Recognizing a need to nurture the hope that still resides in young people as well as to revive an intergenerational community and human compassion, Sales is dedicated to strengthening the hope, courage, reason and will of young people to individually and collectively stand up for themselves with dignity, clarity and nonviolent persistence. 
  • During this talk, Sales will focus on Martin Luther King Jr’s question “Where do we go from here: chaos or community?” She will discuss how we move from individualism to community. She will also address the question; “How can you have order in the midst of injustice since injustice fractures and oppresses? It violates our relationship with each other, God and the community.”
  • To prepare for the talk please review the following chapters that have been scanned here.
  • Join Webinar, Meeting ID 926 9048 9200, Passcode: mlk

6:00 pm | Deliberate Dialogues: Engaging Students in Social Justice Conversations

  • Students will be led by peer facilitators from Assistant Professor of Religion Anthony Bateza’s course through discussions on race and equity using selected guides from the Living Room Conversation model for deliberative dialogue, including “Being White in the Antiracist Movement,” “Righteousness and Relationships,” “The Golden Rule in Politics,” and “Race-Faith-Communities.”
  • Sign up for the Dialogue here.
  • Join Zoom Meeting, Meeting ID 962 9058 7759, Passcode: mlk
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Ruby Nell Sales

Public Theologian, Historian, Activist, Social Critic, and Educator
The founder of the SpiritHouse Project, a national nonprofit that uses the arts, research, education, action, and spirituality to bring diverse peoples together to work for racial, economic, and gender justice, as well as for spiritual maturity.

Read Biography

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The George Floyd Fellowship for Social Change directly supports the advancement of Black American students.