NAACP Chairman Keynotes Washington and Lee's Multi-Day King Celebration
Roslyn McCallister Brock, chairman of the national board of directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will highlight a series of lectures, panel discussions and performances as Washington and Lee University holds its annual observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day this month.
Brock will present the keynote address for W&L’s King celebration on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. in Keller Theatre on the W&L campus.
Her speech and all other events in the multi-day program, “Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” are open to the public at no charge.
In addition to Brock’s keynote, this year’s events will include the popular Remembrance Concert at Lexington’s First Baptist Church; lectures by several distinguished scholars, including a Mudd Center for Ethics Lecture by Harvard professor Tommie Shelby; the annual children’s MLK Birthday Party; and the Reflections Dinner.
A complete schedule is below.
When Brock was elected to succeed Julian Bond in 2010 as NAACP chairman, she became the youngest chairman and the fourth woman to hold the position.
Brock is vice president of advocacy and government relations for Bon Secours Health System Inc., in Marriottsville, Maryland. Prior to Bon Secours, she worked for 10 years in health programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan.
A graduate of Virginia Union University, Brock earned a master’s degree in health services administration from George Washington University, an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a master’s of divinity from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union. In May 2010, she received an honorary doctorate from Virginia Union.
Brock has been active with the NAACP for more than 27 years, joining during her first year at Virginia Union. She has held several statewide, regional and national offices. From 1999 to 2010, she led the NAACP’s National Convention Planning Committee and was vice chairman of the NAACP national board. In 2005, she created the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit, which has a goal to “recruit, train and retain a new generation of civil rights leaders for the NAACP.”
The National Urban League presented Brock with its Women of Power Award in 2010, the same year that she was recognized by Essence Magazine as one of “40 Fierce and Fabulous Women Who Are Changing the World” and was featured on BET’s “Black Girls Rock!” program.
The complete schedule of events for Washington and Lee’s annual “Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” follows. Additional details are available at http://go.wlu.edu/MLK-15.
Thursday, January 15
4:30 p.m., Northen Auditorium
Panel Discussion: Race and Justice on America’s Streets
Members of W&L’s law and undergraduate faculty and W&L students will discuss the recent tragedies in Ferguson and New York City, and explore the role that race plays in the nation’s justice system.
Saturday, January 17
7:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, Lexington
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Concert
The W&L University Singers, Cantatrici, the Men’s Glee Club and the MLK Combo are featured in a program that combines music with a reading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Sunday, January 18
7 p.m., Keller Theatre
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote Address
Speaker: Roslyn McCallister Brock, chairman, NAACP National Board of Directors. Reception follows.
Monday, January 19
11 a.m., Elrod Commons
MLK Day Birthday Party
Children from Rockbridge County and the Lexington community are invited to attend a birthday celebration in honor of Dr. King.
1 p.m., Moot Courtroom, Lewis Hall
Panel Discussion: Sentencing and Race
Moderator: Jon Shapiro, visiting professor of law, Washington and Lee University School of Law.
Panelists: Margareth Etienne, Professor and Nancy Snowden Research Scholar in Law, University of Illinois College of Law; Michael Nachmanoff, federal public defender and United States Magistrate Judge (Designate); Wornie Reed, professor and director, Race and Social Policy Center, Virginia Tech
2:30 p.m., Moot Courtroom, Lewis Hall
Panel Discussion: Immigration and Civil Rights
Moderator: David Baluarte, assistant clinical professor of law, and director, Immigrant Rights Clinic, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Panelists: Claudia Cubas, Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition; Joseph Montano, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia
Sponsored by the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the Washington and Lee University School of Law
4:00 p.m., Moot Courtroom, Lewis Hall
Lecture: “Rethinking the Role of Law in the Civil Rights Movement”
Lecturer: Kenneth Mack, Lawrence D. Biele Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Tuesday, January 20
12:20 p.m., Northen Auditorium
Brown-Bag Lecture: Beyond America: Maya Angelou, Malcolm X and West Africa in the Civil Rights Era, 1960–1966
Lecturer: T.J. Tallie Jr., Assistant Professor of African History, Washington and Lee University
Food will be provided.
Wednesday, January 21
4:30 p.m., Northen Auditorium
Mudd Center Lecture
Procreation and Parental Responsibility: The Case of Disadvantaged Black Men
Lecturer: Tommie Shelby, Professor of African and African American Studies and Philosophy, Harvard University
Sunday, January 25
5:30 p.m., Evans Dining Hall
Reflections Dinner
Leaders from the W&L campus community and the Lexington community offer their views of King’s legacy. This event is open to the public, and a meal will be provided. RSVP at http://myw.lu/1BHUiDP
