Martin Luther King Jr. Week Reflects on Civil Rights
Nationally acclaimed actor Jim Lucas will chronicle the civil rights movement through the eyes of Martin Luther King Jr. in a one-man show at Alma College.
Lucas presents “Reflections: The Life and Times of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.” at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21 in the Remick Heritage Center. Admission is free and open to the public. The keynote presentation launches Alma College’s weeklong MLK Week observance.
Jim Lucas
In “Reflections,” Lucas presents little known facts about King and the civil rights movement as well as excerpts from some of his well-known speeches. His resemblance to and interpretation of King has been called “remarkable, awe inspiring, authentic and soulful,” says Laura Von Wallmenich, who is coordinating MLK Week events at Alma College.
“Lucas has an ability to bring King’s words to life — to remind us of the power they had when first uttered, as well as to ask us to consider what those words might mean for us today,” says Von Wallmenich.
A longtime student of King’s teachings, Lucas is an advocate of King’s philosophy of non-violent civil action to affect social change. Like King, Lucas participated in local protests and demonstrations to achieve school integration in his hometown of Lake Providence, La.
In August 1983, Lucas attended the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington. It was during that march that Lucas received the inspiration to learn and later recite King’s speeches. Since then, Lucas has traveled nationwide delivering various renditions of King’s “I Have a Dream” and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speeches and excerpts from “The Drum Major Instinct,” “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” and other works in a dramatic one-man show.
He has been the guest speaker for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The Mormon Temple and National Baptist Convention. He also has performed at more than 100 colleges and universities as well as throughout Germany, Japan and South Korea.
His movie and television credits include appearances in Head of State, Ladder 49, National Treasures I and II, Something the Lord Made, The West Wing, The District, “24” and The Wire. Lucas is currently co-starring in the critically acclaimed play, “The Meeting,” a powerful drama about the lives, philosophies and times of King and Malcolm X.
Martin Luther King Jr. Week Events at Alma College
Jan. 19/Alma College students volunteer at Kids Night Out, a community-based event in which the college students watch movies, play games and go swimming with elementary age youth. Kids Night Out takes place at Alma High School from 6 to 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19.
Jan. 20/The youth gospel choir of Prince of Peace Baptist Church in Saginaw sings at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20 during the Martin Luther King Jr. campus worship service in the Alma College Chapel. All are welcome.
Jan. 21/The Alma College Service Learning Office and the United Health Professionals of Alma College (UHPAC) sponsor a campus blood drive and bone marrow registry from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21 in the Stone Recreation Center at Alma College. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome as space permits. Schedule your appointment online at redcrossblood.org.
Jan. 21/The Interfaith Council, Amnesty International, Multicultural Student Union and other student groups sponsor an interfaith “Diversity Day” fair in the Stone Recreation Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21. Attendance is free and open to the public.
Jan. 21/MLK Week keynote speaker Jim Lucas participates in a panel discussion on “What Would Dr. King Say Today?” at 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21 in the Dow Science Center Room L1. Attendance is free and open to the public.
Jan. 21/Acclaimed actor and public speaker Jim Lucas presents “Reflections” at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21 in the Remick Heritage Center. Lucas shares his expertise on the life and times of Rev. King with stirring and dramatic recitations and interpretive readings. Admission is free and open to the public.
Jan. 24/The Alma College Service Learning Office sponsors a poverty simulation workshop from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 in the Remick Heritage Center lobby. Facilitated by West Michigan Access, a non-profit organization that emphasizes poverty education and hunger responses, the workshop addresses issues facing families with low income.
Jan. 24/Students, faculty and staff are invited to join the Alma College women’s soccer team in donating/serving at Community Café, where Sodexo provides meals through meal/point donations from students, faculty and staff. The meal is served from 4:45 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 at First Presbyterian Church in Alma.
-mjs-
Posted: Sun, January 6th, 2013 at 11:57AM
