The College will commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday this with a series of activities and speakers, from today through Monday, in honor of the late civil rights leader.
The festivities will culminate Monday night with the East Coast premiere of "Passages of Martin Luther King", a dramatic presentation written by Clayborne Carson, a Stanford University historian, and directed and produced by Victor Walker, a drama professor at the College.
The cast is comprised of many Dartmouth notables.
Director of Alumni Relations Nelson Armstrong will play Martin Luther King Jr. English Professor William Cook is cast as Martin Luther King Sr. College President James Freedman will play the role of President John F. Kennedy. Dean of the College Lee Pelton is cast as Malcom X and co-Director of Consultation and Multicultural Services Sandra Spiegel will play Coretta Scott King.
"The production will make use of 115 slides, 15 minutes of video footage taken from the King family and will bring various components of the community together," Walker said. "This is a multimedia production featuring six to seven media components."
Many of the people involved in the production jumped in "feet first ... I was very shocked to see everyone so excited about the play," Walker said.
Spiegel explained her enthusiasm.
"This is an incredible piece of history," Spiegel said. "The play shows that icons are complicated people ... their experiences make them who they are."
After the play there will be a panel discussion titled "What Do These Words Mean?"
The panel will feature Montgomery Fellow Wilma Mankiller, History Professor Bruce Nelson and Comparative Literature Professor Diana Taylor. Shakari Cameron '96 will moderate the discussion.
Other events related to the King holiday start today.
The weekend's activities will begin with a film and photo lecture titled "Murder in the Mississippi Delta."
Speakers at the event will include Kirsten Doolittle '96, Hollis Watkins, a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and civil rights activist, and Leesha Faulkner, a historian from Southern University.
Activities on Saturday include a panel discussion titled "Notions of Civility: From Civil Rights to Women's Rights to Gay Rights to the Contract with America to the Million Man March and Beyond."
The panel will feature Religion Professor Ifi Amadiume, Sociology Professor Steven Cornish, History Professor Annelise Orleck, Sociology Professor Misagh Parsa and Walker.
On Sunday, there will be a production of the play, "The Meeting," performed by the Yale Cabaret.
At 12 p.m. on Monday, Carson will give the celebration's keynote address in 105 Dartmouth Hall.
Carson is the editor and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc.
Gwendolyn King, the College's Christian chaplain, and Freedman will give the opening remarks.
At 5 p.m., there will be a discussion at Cutter-Shabazz Hall titled "What Does this Day Mean?" Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will host the discussion.
After the discussion, there will be a candlelight vigil starting at Cutter-Shabazz Hall at 6 p.m.
The dramatic presentation will follow at 7 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium. Admission requires a special ticket for which there is no charge.
