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WT to Celebrate MLK’s Legacy with Speech Reenactment, Scholarship Contest

MLKReenactment
Chip Chandler Jan 13, 2021
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WT to Celebrate MLK’s Legacy with Speech Reenactment, Scholarship Contest

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

 

CANYON, Texas — A live reenactment of the “I Have a Dream” speech and a video essay contest are among the ways West Texas A&M University will recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The holiday will be celebrated Jan. 18, and WT, like other schools in The Texas A&M University System, will be closed in remembrance of the civil rights leader.

When classes resume on Jan. 19, students and other campus community members can listen to Julian Reese, head coach of the Amarillo Venom, deliver King’s famous speech at 12:30 p.m. in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center.

Face coverings and social distancing will be required.

The speech also will be livestreamed on YouTube and the WT home page

This will be the third year Reese has delivered King’s speech, originally delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. Reenactments have been held every other year since 2017.

“Dr. King’s speech, in which he described his hopes for a land of freedom and equality arising from a country that, for generations, had consigned its Black population to slavery, eloquently describes the goal we are still striving to reach today,” said Angela Allen, WT’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. Her office, along with the Office of Experiential Learning and Campus to Community, are sponsoring the reenactment.

Separately, the Black Women Association of WTAMU is sponsoring its first Martin Luther King Jr. video essay scholarship contest with the theme “Be the change you want to see.”

The contest is open to all WT undergraduate students, including transfer students. Participating students must address what change they want to see, what they have done and what they plan to do. Prizes are $1,000 for first, $500 for second and $250 for third.

“We want students to be inspired and motivated about making change,” said Angel Ross, BWA event planner. “In order to be the change, you must first be a part of the process. We want to prepare our students with the tools needed to be a part of the change now and in the future.”

Students may enter online by clicking here. Deadline is Feb. 19. Winners will be announced at a Black History Month program scheduled for Feb. 26. Sponsors include Gateway to Success, Northside Toy Drive and ABC7 News.

BWA plans to host weekly speeches throughout February’s celebration of Black History Month, all speaking on the topic of the scholarship contest. More information will be announced soon.

For information on the video essay contest, contact Angel Ross at 806-651-2761 or aross@wtamu.edu.

The events are in line with the University’s mission of creating a diverse and inclusive student body, as outlined in WT’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

 

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. With enrollment of more than 10,000, WT offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 38 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 15 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

 

—WTAMU—