Pitt to Honor the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. With Weeklong Series of Events Jan. 13-20

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events in his honor from Jan. 13 through Jan. 20. The celebration begins with an Interfaith Service from 7 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Heinz Memorial Chapel, Fifth and Bellefield avenues, Oakland. A unity brunch will cap off the festivities from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 20 in the O’Hara Student Center, 4024 O’Hara St., Oakland. 

Highlights of the weeklong celebration include a candlelight vigil held by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity on the Cathedral of Learning steps on Jan. 15 at 7:06 p.m.—symbolic of the year the fraternity was founded, 1906, translated from military to standard time; a day of service from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 16, with students partaking in service projects throughout Pittsburgh-area communities; a lecture Jan. 17 by Diane Nash, a leader and strategist of the student wing of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement; and a Social Justice Symposium Jan. 19, with guest speaker S. Allen Condeluci, Pitt faculty member in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Science and a national leader and consultant on human services and community issues. 

Nash was one of the most respected student leaders of 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Her efforts included the first successful civil rights campaign to desegregate lunch counters in Nashville; the Freedom Rides, which helped to desegregate interstate travel; and the Selma Voting Rights Movement, which helped bring about African Americans gaining voting and political power in the South. Throughout her involvement as a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Nash worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr.

Condeluci has been an advocate and catalyst for building community life and culture since the 1970s. Also an advocate for people with disabilities, Condeluci has worked as an attendant, caseworker, planner, program director, and CEO of his organization, UCP/Class (United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh /Community Living and Support Services) since 1973, with the stated mission of working “towards a community where each belongs.” 

A complete schedule of events is available at www.studentaffairs.pitt.edu/mlk.

The events are sponsored by Pitt’s Black Action Society, Cross Cultural and Leadership Development (CCLD) Office, Dean of Students Kathy Humphrey and the Division of Student Affairs, Equipoise, Office of Student Life, and University of Pittsburgh Chaplaincies as well as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. For more information, contact the CCLD at 412-648-7831. 

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