Dr. Cornell West (Courtesy)Philosopher, activist, social critic, and actor Cornel West will speak as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day vigil event planned for Monday, Jan. 16 on the University of Arkansas campus.
The Black Students Association and Associated Student Government will host the event, which begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center.
West will participate in a moderated Q&A session at the vigil, and the UA is currently accepting submissions for questions for West online.
In addition, the event will include remarks by UA Chancellor Charles Robinson, along with a performance by the Inspirational Chorale.
West, who serves as the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary, had been previously announced to be in Fayetteville for MLK Day weekend as a speaker at the NWA Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council’s Recommitment Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 14.
He is the former profressor of the pracrtice of public philosophy at Harvard University, and professor emeritus at Princeton. He has written 20 books, including Race Matters, Democracy Matters, his memoir Brother West: Living and Loving out Loud, and others. His most recent book, Black Prophetic Fire, examines the impact of revolutionary African American leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., along with Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ella Baker, Malcolm X, and Ida B. Wells.
Seating for the vigil will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. An overflow livestream will also be available online, and streamed in the Arkansas Union Verizon Ballroom.
In addition to West’s appearance this weekend, the NWA MLK Council has released their full schedule of events to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in and around Fayetteville. Those events include a community service project at Asbell Elementary School on Saturday, Jan. 14, the MLK Day Freedom March beginning at the corner of MLK Boulevard and Razorback Road at 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, and more (see below).
For a bit more information about the vigil event and West’s appearance, visit uark.edu.
For more about info about the NWA MLK Council, visit their website.
