The Wisconsin Union team will host “MLK Celebration: Stone of Hope,” a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event series, Jan. 27–29. The series features events and activities focused on reflection and dialogue that explore King’s legacy and the relevance of his efforts and words today.
Drawing inspiration from King’s words, “With this faith, we will hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope,” the series invites participants to consider the question: What stones of hope are we carving today?
Wisconsin Union student leaders and staff designed the series to connect history to contemporary issues and to guide participants in reflecting on the stones of hope they are carving through art and conversation. A “Stone of Hope” art-making and reflection activity will occur an hour before each scheduled event.
The series also includes a film screening and discussion on Jan. 29 featuring “King in the Wilderness,” a 2018 documentary about King’s final years, presented by the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Committee at the Marquee at Union South.
The series lineup will conclude on Jan. 29 at Shannon Hall in Memorial Union with a live concert by hip-hop trio Digable Planets with special guest and experimental rapper MIKE, presented by the WUD Music and Performing Arts Committees (PAC). WUD student leaders created the community concert as a celebration of the futures people can create together through art and shared experience.
Ahead of the culminating concert, Digable Planets and MIKE will take part in a moderated conversation with Dr. Jonathan Øverby as a special installment of Interdisciplinary Arts Community Sessions (IACS), an ongoing series that creates space for audiences to engage with artists and their work through cultural and academic exploration.
Calling on King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” this conversation is intended to examine how artists use language, storytelling, and memory to activate communities and imagine new futures.
Each featured event of this year’s series will open with “King’s Words, Our Voices,” an audio recording of current UW–Madison students reading excerpts of his 1965 speech on campus.
A curated exhibition in the series will feature works from the Wisconsin Union art collection, selected to honor King’s legacy. The exhibition seeks to connect historical civil rights efforts to current issues in the community and will be displayed outside the Play Circle Theater at Memorial Union.
The full lineup includes:
- Jan. 27
- Print-Making and Zine-Making, presented by the WUD Literary Arts Committee and Wheelhouse Studios
- Wisconsin Union Art Collection Exhibit, presented by the WUD Art Committee
- Jan. 28
- Community Dinner: Food Security is a Civil Right, presented by the WUD Cuisine and the WUD Volunteer Action Committees
- Jan. 29
- Social Cinema: Screening of “King in the Wilderness” and Community Panel, presented by the WUD Film Committee
- IACS with Digable Planets and MIKE Moderated by Dr. Jonathan Øverby, presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater (WUT), the WUD Music Committee, WUD PAC, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Initiatives (OMAI)
- Live in Concert: Digable Planets with Special Guest MIKE, presented by the WUD Music Committee and WUD PAC
King spoke at UW–Madison on March 30, 1962, at Memorial Union and elsewhere on campus on Nov. 23, 1965. In 1963, he delivered his speech, “The Future of Integration,” to an audience of more than 4,000 people. The stone of hope theme draws directly from his message of faith in the future and his belief in the responsibility of individuals and communities to actively shape the future.
“‘MLK Celebration: Stone of Hope’ invites our entire campus community to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring call to shape a more just future together,” said Heidi Lang, Wisconsin Union principal student engagement officer. “We are all incredibly proud of our student leaders and staff, whose vision and collaboration have created a powerful, joyous and engaging series of events.”
“MLK Celebration: Stone of Hope” is presented by the Wisconsin Union, with one event co-presented in partnership with OMAI, and with support from the Office of the Chancellor and University of Wisconsin–Madison Student Affairs.
For information on “MLK Celebration: Stone of Hope” and past campus MLK Day events, visit wisc.edu/mlk.