Contact: Dr. Donna Simon (304) 766-3363 dsimon@wvstateu.edu
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – A presentation on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is scheduled for Thursday, April 4, at 2 p.m. at the West Virginia State University (WVSU) Wilson Student Union. The event will commemorate the life of King on the 45 anniversary of his death.
“This presentation examines the neatly packaged way in which Dr. King has been memorialized through many local, state and federal landmarks,” said Dr. Carol Taylor-Johnson, WVSU associate professor of English. “We will commemorate his life by examining his writings, many of which are unfamiliar.”
Special attention will be given to the evolution of King’s development as a young African-American male growing up in the South, as well as his development as a student and political thinker.
King became well known for his role in the advancement of civil rights for African-Americans in the 1950s and 60s, including leading the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Ala. Among other accolades, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968. A federal holiday was established in his honor in 1986.
The event will take place in room 135 of the WVSU Wilson Student Union. It is free and open to the public.