MLK Day Events in Georgetown Next Week
Georgetown will celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 19 and later in the week at Southwestern University at a number of community events. On January 19, youth will participate in a Youth Service Day at the Teen Center and other volunteers will participate in a Day of Service at various locations. At noon on January 19 there will be a march starting at the Courthouse followed by a program at Macedonia Baptist Church. Southwestern University will host a two-day symposium and other events in the week of MLK Day.
Youth Service Day
The Georgetown Project hosts a Youth Service Day on MLK Day for youth grades 9 to 12 at the Teen Center. The Youth Service Day starts at 9 a.m. Service projects include games with seniors at a nursing home, park clean-up and beautification, working at the NEST program for teens, landscaping at the Georgetown Housing Authority, work at Habitat ReStore, and writing letters or sending bracelets to members of the military. Students needing service hours will be given certificates for 4.5 hours of service.
Participation in service projects will be followed by a free pizza lunch at the Teen Center, located at the Recreation Center, 1003 N. Austin Avenue. For details, contact the Georgetown Project at www.georgetownproject.org or call (512) 943-5198.
Day of Service
The United Way of Williamson County is sponsoring a Day of Service on MLK Day from 9 a.m. to noon for youth or adults. The Day of Service includes project locations in Georgetown, Hutto, Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Taylor. Projects in Georgetown include volunteer efforts at Annunciation Maternity Home, Berry Springs Park and Reserve, and The Caring Place. For details or to register, go to unitedway-wc.org or call (512) 255-6799.
March and Panel
A march to honor the MLK Day holiday will begin at 12 p.m. (noon) at the Williamson County Courthouse, 710 S. Main Street. After meeting on the north side of the Courthouse on Seventh Street, there will be a seven-block march to Macedonia Baptist Church, 206 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street. The theme of the event, sponsored by the Georgetown Fellowship of Churches, is Pursuing Hopes and Dreams through Tribulations.
A program beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Macedonia Baptist Church features Nathaniel Bonner with St. Paul United Methodist Church, De Andre Woods-Walker with Southwestern University, and Cheryl Lang-Hoover, Georgetown ISD executive director of human resources. The march and program are free and open to the public. For details, contact Tyrone Adams at (512) 968-6361 or Paulette Taylor at (512) 863-2109.
Symposium at Southwestern University
For the first time, the Race and Ethnicity Studies Program at Southwestern University will be hosting an interdisciplinary symposium during Martin Luther King, Jr. Week. The two-day Race and Ethnicity Studies Symposium will feature six Southwestern faculty members and Southwestern alumna Tara Leday. The symposium on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and on Thursday, Jan. 22 will focus on research on race and racial discrimination and feature a question and answer period in which attendees may participate. For the full symposium schedule, visit: www.southwestern.edu/calendar.
The symposium is co-sponsored by the Diversity Enrichment Committee and the Office of Diversity Education. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information about the symposium, contact Assistant Professor of Philosophy Omar Rivera at riverao@southwestern.edu.
Leading up to the symposium, a discussion about the book Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr. will be held on Friday, Jan. 16, at 3 p.m. in Room 234 of the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Center for Lifelong Learning at Southwestern. The discussion will be facilitated by Terri Johnson, assistant dean for student multicultural affairs. Additionally, the regularly scheduled chapel service on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 11:30 a.m. will honor the life and legacy of Dr. King.
Southwestern students also will participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Twin Springs Preserve on Monday, Jan. 19, and will be invited to share their perspective on Dr. King’s “beloved community” on the SU Social Justice Wall Jan. 15-22.
Southwestern University is located at Maple Street and University Avenue in Georgetown.
