MLK Day offers much more than a reprieve from classes and work.
Welcome back!
It feels like the semester just started (because it did) and we're already looking at the joys of a long weekend, but it's worth remembering that MLK Day isn't just a day off. MLK Day is a celebration of the life and legacy of civil rights leader and icon Martin Luther King Jr.
With that in mind and questions coming in about what Texas Tech University will be doing to celebrate MLK Day, we thought we'd lay out a few options for students, faculty, staff and the community to get involved in the coming week.
We reached out to a member of the MLK Week Planning Committee, Cory S. Powell over in Texas Tech's Office of Institutional Diversity, to get his thoughts on celebrating MLK Day.
“I am honored to serve on the MLK Week Planning Committee again this year and I am excited that the events and interest from our Texas Tech community continues to grow,” Powell said. “We are all beneficiaries of Dr. King's contributions, sacrifices and legacy. As such, we have collective responsibilities to continue his work towards The Beloved Community.”
While we're going to share the full calendar for the week's event, we asked Powell to point out a few he wanted to highlight and here's what he wanted to share.
It starts Tuesday (Jan. 17) with the Wreath Laying Ceremony and Legacy Reflection Route.
The event, which is the opening ceremony for MLK Week, starts at 10 a.m. in Memorial Circle, where members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. – the fraternity of Martin Luther King Jr. – will place a wreath in remembrance of MLK. Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec and Provost Ronald Hendrick will both speak at the event. University Student Housing will host the 5th Annual Legacy March and Reflection Route immediately following the opening ceremony and lasting until 4 p.m.
Texas Tech's Black Cultural Center is also hosting a cool event throughout the week called the MLK Youth Art Exhibit. The exhibit will highlight art from area grade school students celebrating MLK. The exhibit will run through Feb. 13.
And in the true spirit of giving back to the community, Powell stressed the need for faculty and staff to sign up for the MLK Meals on Wheels Delivery event Friday (Jan. 20).
For several years Texas Tech and Texas Tech Health Sciences Center faculty and staff have joined forces during MLK week to drive Meals on Wheels routes. That tradition will continue this year and Powell stressed that more volunteers are needed. All you need is a license and an insured vehicle to sign up, but you have to get on the list by 3 p.m. TUESDAY (Jan. 17) if you want to participate. The routes usually only take about one hour to complete, so if you have the time and an insured vehicle, go ahead and get signed up.
To sign up just complete this short form. If you have any questions or need more information reach out to Powell via email: cory.powell@ttu.edu
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