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MLK Day Celebration

Nazareth's virtual MLK celebration will take place on Monday, January 18, and will center around Mobilizing The Mind: Advocacy, Activism, & Antiracism. The celebration will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during which time classes are suspended and staff offices are closed. This year's keynote speaker is Melanie West, a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego and Naz alum ('14). To learn more about her and her upcoming address, check out the video or read here. 

Awards for Creative Expression 

The celebration will feature the recipients of the MLK Awards for Creative Expression.

• Music Category: Ally Yanoff, "Our Yesterday" (small ensemble/voice)
• Visual Arts Category: Raechelle Hajduk, "Mask Required for Entry" (linoleum print)
• Open Category: Mariela Leon Thomas, "Who I am" (video)

Program Highlights

Jan. 18, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Zoom Link | Passcode: MLK)

• Welcome & Reflection, President Beth Paul
• Keynote Address with Q/A (pre-submitted questions), Melanie West
• Awards for Creative Expression, Mario Martinez
• Bridge Building: Integrating Faith Wisdom Into Ways of Showing Up for Others, Hava Leipzig Holzhauer & Dr. Muhammad Shafiq 
• Call to Action, Olajiwon McCadney

Jan. 18, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.  

Join Shane Wiegand of the AntiRacism Curriculum Project in his talk, Racist Policy & Resistance in Rochester. This talk examines how federal policies like redlining, racially restrictive covenants, and urban renewal segregated Rochester, built wealth for its white citizens, and disenfranchised people of color. It explores how local civil rights leaders like Howard Coles, Dr. Walter Cooper, Connie Mitchell, Alice Young, and many others fought back. Finally, it connects these past policies to the disparity and inequality we see in Greater Rochester today and invites us to learn from and apply the activism of Rochester's past to its present. 

Jan. 23, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

Explore current social justice issues, learn about multiple pathways for advocacy, and take action through MLK Day of Advocacy. Multiple workshops will examine educational equity, the use of excessive force in law enforcement, environmental justice, and poverty and economic justice.