Martin Luther King Jr. Day lecture to focus on activism
Terrell Strayhorn, director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise at Ohio State University, will deliver a Martin Luther King Jr. Day lecture at St. Olaf College titled Acting on King’s Dream: Living Beyond Violent Nightmares.
The lecture, which will be streamed and archived online, will begin at 3:30 p.m. on January 18 in the Sun and Gold Ballroom in Buntrock Commons. It is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous oration, the I Have a Dream speech, was delivered on August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. While known for the powerful imagery that perhaps called a nation to account for its history and then-present racial segregation and subjugation, King is all too often painted as a passive activist, as if nonviolence was equal to inaction, Strayhorn argues. This is, he says, patently untrue.
In his speech, Strayhorn will revisit the substance of King’s speech and life, consider the progress to date, and implore all those present to heed the urgency of the times by getting involved, providing leadership, and acting for justice.
Strayhorn, a professor of higher education at Ohio State with teaching appointments in several departments, maintains an active and highly visible research agenda focusing on major policy issues in education: student access and achievement, equity and diversity, impact of college on students, and student learning and development.
He has authored eight books and monographs, including The Evolving Challenges of Black College Students,College Students’ Sense of Belonging, and Theoretical Frameworks in College Student Research.
Strayhorn’s lecture is sponsored by the St. Olaf Student Congregation, the Center for Multicultural and International Engagement, the Cultural Union for Black Expression, and the Diversity Celebrations Committee.