Contact: Kimberly Osborne (304) 766-3363
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The College of Arts and Humanities at West Virginia State University (WVSU) will celebrate the legacy and history of the 1963 March on Washington at its Fall Convocation Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the West Virginia Culture Center from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
The Convocation, which is free and open to the public, will feature a roundtable discussion comprised of individuals who participated in the historic March and WVSU faculty presentations focusing on how the arts and their various disciplines were impacted by the March. The Convocation will close with a reception honoring March participants, and students will have a chance to meet and discuss this important milestone event in national and world histories with those who experienced it firsthand.
“The WVSU College of Arts and Humanities Fall Convocation explores the history and legacy of the 1963 March on Washington with an opportunity for students, faculty and community members to relive this pivotal moment through the lens of the arts and humanities which it so richly shaped,” said Scott Woodard, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. “The March on Washington occurred 50 years ago. This convocation provides an opportunity to reawaken those dreams and guide a new generation to the power it inspired.”
As an example, Woodard said that WVSU Art Instructor Josh Martin would talk about the March and its impact on visual arts, while Communications Professor T. Ford-Ahmed would discuss media and the March.
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the largest peaceful demonstration ever seen in Washington, D.C., attended by an estimated 250,000 people on Aug. 28, 1963. It was also the venue where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
For the Convocation, shuttles will be available to transport students from Institute to the Culture Center and back. Shuttles will depart from the Davis Fine Arts Building parking lot at 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. and return at the conclusion of the Convocation. A reservation is required to ride the shuttle and can be made by calling the WVSU Office of Arts and Humanities at (304) 766-3196.
The West Virginia Culture Center is located in the Capitol Complex at 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East in Charleston.