Whitman College hosts MLK Day events

Schedule includes opening of the Glover Alston Center

WALLA WALLA – Martin Luther King Jr. Day takes on a special historic significance for Whitman College this year with the official opening of the Glover Alston Center, a new space on campus designed for students with diverse backgrounds and interests to explore, reflect, discuss and engage.

The traditional MLK Day candlelight peace march from campus to downtown Walla Walla and back on Jan. 18 will conclude with an open house at the center, a renovated historic home at 26 Boyer Ave. President George Bridges will greet guests at the event, which will feature refreshments and music by Whitman’s talented student jazz musicians.

MLK Day events at Whitman also include opportunities for volunteer service and a panel discussion with professors.

The schedule for the day includes:

1:30-1:45 Assemble at Reid Campus Center to join community service projects (2-4 p.m.) coordinated by the Community Service office.

3:30-4:30 p.m., RCC ballroom: Volunteer fair and activities.

4:30-5:30 p.m., RCC Ballroom. Whitman College Professors explore the Civil Rights Movement, how it informed and impacted various groups of people then, and its relevance to today's social justice movements. Participants include Bob Withycombe, professor of rhetoric and film studies; Nina Lerman, associate professor of history; Gilbert Mireles, assistant professor of sociology; and Jennifer McGovern, visiting Johnston Professor of English.

5:45-6:30 p.m., MLK Jr. Day March. Meet at the RCC ballroom for a candlelight peace march to downtown Walla Walla and then back to the Whitman campus.

6:30 p.m. Glover-Alston Center Open House (26 Boyer Ave) Featuring music, refreshments and a screening of the documentary “At the River I Stand,” hosted by the Black Student Union.