<p>Brown University’s Department of Africana Studies and the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association will sponsor a community conversation, “The Dream at 50: Equality, Education and Empowerment,” Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 at 10 a.m. in Churchill House on the Brown campus.</p>

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 21, 2013, a group of Providence area civic leaders will come together for a community conversation on “The Dream at 50: Equality, Education and Empowerment.” The event, free and open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m. in Churchill House, 155 Angell St. on the Brown campus. Brown President Christina Paxson will deliver opening remarks. The event will be broadcast live online at brown.edu/web/livestream.

Sponsored by the Brown University Department of Africana Studies and the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, the conversation will center around the continuing significance and enduring challenge of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and how the community can work together to realize his dream for a better world. Aug. 28, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of King’s historic address at the March on Washington in 1963.

Who

  • Brown President Christina Paxson, delivering opening remarks;
  • R.I. Rep. Anastasia P. Williams, chair of the House Labor Committee and Rhode Island Legislative Black and Latino Caucus;
  • Angela Romans, senior adviser on education to Mayor Angel Taveras;
  • Derrick Ciesla, principal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Providence;
  • The Rev. Carl Balark, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Providence and a member of the Rhode Island Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission;
  • Raymond Watson, executive director of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association;
  • Julia Jordan-Zachery, associate professor of political science and director of the Program in Black Studies at Providence College;
  • Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, director of education and training for the Urban League of Rhode Island.
  • Reverend Nikita McCalister, American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island; 
  • Elyssa R. Perez, a sophomore at Classical High School
  • Anta F. Touray, a senior at Hope High School

Editors: Panelists will be available for press interviews prior to the event. Contact Courtney Coelho, 401-863-7287, [email protected].

What
Participants in the community conversation will offer critical reflections on the continuing significance and enduring challenge of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and discuss how the community can work together to realize his dream for a better world. A question and answer period with the audience will follow the discussion.

Where
Churchill House, George Houston Bass Performing Arts Space, 155 Angell St., an accessible venue.

When
Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, at 10 a.m.