Clark College News and Events

Graphic–Clark College News and Events

Clark College News and Events


January 15, 2008
For Immediate Release
For additional information: 
Barbara Kerr, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Telephone:  360-992-2921
E-mail: bkerr@clark.edu

HONORING A DREAM

Clark College hosts events to honor the legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Over four days, Clark College will host events honoring the life and dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

The focus of the celebration, sponsored by Clark College Multicultural Student Affairs, will be “Keep the Dream Alive:  Dr. Martin Luther King’s Values Then and Now.”  The events will take place on January 22 and on January 28-30. 

All events are free and open to the public.  Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver.

 

Keep the Dream Alive:  January 22 (Foster Auditorium)

Portland Community College district president Dr. Preston PulliamsOn Tuesday, January 22, the college will welcome Dr. Preston Pulliams, district president of Portland Community College (PCC).  The evening will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in Foster Auditorium.  The address and entertainment will begin at 6:00 p.m. Foster Auditorium is located on the northwest side of Clark College’s main campus on Fort Vancouver Way between E. McLoughlin Blvd. and Fourth Plain Blvd.   Parking will be available in the college’s red, purple and yellow lots. 

Dr. Preston Pulliams became PCC’s fifth president in 2004. He came to Portland Community College after serving as vice-chancellor for Community Colleges for the State University of New York (SUNY) where he coordinated and directed the activities of the 30 community colleges in the SUNY system.  Dr. Pulliams is a community college graduate.  After receiving his associate degree in science from Muskegon Community College, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in social science from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in counseling and personnel from Western Michigan University and a doctorate degree in educational administration from the University of Michigan.

Following Dr. Pulliam’s presentation, the Vancouver AME Zion Church Choir will perform.

Keep the Dream Alive:  January 28-30 (Gaiser Student Center)

On Monday, January 28, the performance art group Living Voices will present “The Right to Dream,” followed by a performance by the Ghanaian drumming group, OBO Addy African Drummers. 
Living Voices:  The Right to Dream presentation

“The Right to Dream” recreates a young man’s coming of age as an African American in Mississippi during the 1950s and 1960s. This program illuminates the issues of civil rights, leading audiences to understand how the fight against prejudice has shaped our history. 

Living Voices uses theatre, video, and live interaction to create a high impact experience allowing audiences to discover history's relevance to their lives.

Obo Addy

Obo Addy is an Ghanaian drummer and dancer who was one of the first native African musicians to bring the fusion of traditional folk music and Western pop music known as “worldbeat” to Europe and then to the Pacific Northwest.

The performance will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the college’s Gaiser Student Center. 

 

Debbie Wooten, speaker and comedianOn Tuesday, January 29, Clark College will welcome speaker and comedian Debbie Wooten.  Wooten was born with spina bifida then contracted polio when she was just five months old. 

On her Web site, she notes, “Because of her skin color the white kids wouldn’t play with her and the black kids didn’t accept her because she was different. Her adult life wasn’t much easier. She had two marriages that ended, one because of suicide, one because of abuse. But fortunately for her audiences she’s taken her problems and faced them with strength, grace and a lot of humor.”   Debbie Wooten will speak from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Gaiser Student Center.

Following Wooten’s speech, members of the Clark College community will present two speeches to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Members of the Clark College Multicultural Student Union will present the “I Have a Dream” speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompting the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The year after delivering the speech, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.   Clark College physics professor Dick Shamrell will then present the “I See the Promised Land” speech, which King delivered in Memphis, Tennessee the day before his assassination.

Laura "Piece" Kelley JahnOn Wednesday, January 30, slam poet Laura “Piece” Kelley Jahn will perform original poetry. Laura "Piece" Kelley Jahn is a nationally recognized spoken word poet, hip-hop artist and arts educator whose cutting edge materials is described as “a vehicle for social change.”  

Jahn will perform from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Gaiser Student Center. 

The Gaiser Student Center is located on the northwest corner of Clark College’s main campus on Fort Vancouver Way between E. McLoughlin Blvd. and Fourth Plain Blvd.   

Parking will be available in the college’s red, purple and yellow lots. 

Anyone needing accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in these events should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at (360) 992-2314 or (360) 992-2835 (TTY) or visit PSU room 014 prior to the event.

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