MLK Day 2014
9–11am | The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote, Peter J. Gomes Chapel
Video from the keynote is available upon request in the College Archives.
Master of Ceremonies: James L. Reese, Associate Dean of Students
Music: Three Point Jazz Trio (beginning at 8:45am)
Overview: Matthew R. Auer, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Welcome and Introduction of U.S. Sen. Angus King: A. Clayton Spencer, President of Bates College
Remarks by U.S. Sen. Angus S. King Jr.: A Reminiscence of His Participation in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Sen. King was sworn in as Maine’s first Independent U.S. senator in 2013. He has worked as an attorney, a television host and an entrepreneur in the energy industry, and served two terms in the 1990s as Maine’s governor.
Interlude: Music and readings dedicated to Marian Anderson, Mahalia Jackson, and Camilla Williams, by the Bates Gospelaires and Emily Wright-Magoon.
Anderson, Williams, and Jackson were pioneering African American artists in classical and gospel music. During the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Anderson sang the spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”; Williams, “The Star-Spangled Banner”; and Jackson, the gospel anthem “How I Got Over.” We honor these women for their contributions to an event in which men typically provided the voices and visions.
Introduction of Keynote Speaker: Charles Nero, Professor of Rhetoric, African American Studies and American Cultural Studies.
Keynote Address by Gary Younge: Reclaiming King’s Dream: Decoding the Myths and the Meaning of the Civil Rights Era
Younge is an award-winning columnist for the British newspaper The Guardian. He is the author of The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream (Haymarket Books, 2013), an analysis of the continuing resonance of the I Have a Dream speech 50 years after its delivery at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In 2009, Younge received the prestigious James Cameron Prize for his reports on the election of Barack Obama.
1–2:45pm | The Reverend Benjamin Elijah Mays Debate, Olin Concert Hall
Video from the debate is available upon request in the College Archives.
The ever-popular debate between Bates and Morehouse colleges continues. This year’s motion: “This House Believes King’s Dream is unattainable.” Admission is free, but tickets are required; please visit bit.ly/bates-mlk14 or call 207-786-6400.
