Division of
Diversity and Inclusion

TEACHER NOMINATION FORM

"Partnering with K-12 Schools to Remember Martin Luther King, Jr."
The Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Committee at Purdue University recognizes the role schools and youth played in the Civil Rights Movement through directly involving them in this year's commemorative events. Curriculum that presents the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. through the eyes of youth will be given to teachers to use in their classrooms. In addition, students will be invited to participate in the candlelit vigil that will precede this year's keynote address. We also will be awarding two K-12 teachers whose work embodies King's message of unity and commitment to improving the lives of others. They will receive grants and be recognized during the keynote address event.

Listen to the radio address here!

For over four decades, Bernice Johnson Reagon has been a major cultural voice for freedom and justice; singing, teaching - speaking out against racism and organized inequalities of all kinds. Reagon's life and work supports the concept of community-based culture with an enlarged capacity for mutual respect.

Reagon was an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's as a member of The Freedom Singers, organized by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She was featured in the 1992 Emmy-nominated PBS documentary The Songs Are Free: Bernice Johnson Reagon with Bill Moyers. She was the conceptual producer and narrator of the Peabody Award-winning radio series, Wade in the Water, African American Sacred Music Traditions.

Reagon is Professor Emerita of History at American University in Washington, DC, and holds the title of Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC and was the 2002-04 Cosby Chair Professor of Fine Arts at Spelman College in Atlanta Georgia.

• Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity invites the public to participate in a candlelight vigil preceding the keynote lecture.
• The Purdue Dreamer Award will be presented at the MLK keynote lecture. The award, established in 2004, is given annually to an individual or organization within the Purdue community to honor contributions that embody Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of service to others and further the university's commitment to diversity.

• Ray (PG-13): Both a national treasure and an international phenomenon Ray Charles humbly began life in a poor small town in Georgia. He went blind at the age of seven but, inspired by a fiercely independent single mother, he found his talent behind a piano keyboard. Ray became a sensation by incorporating gospel, country and jazz into his style all the while fighting the racism of the very clubs that launched his career. This unflinching portrait shows both Charles' musical genius as well as his addiction to drugs. This is a tour de force performance by Jaime Foxx that is not to be missed.
• The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (NR): In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was taken from his uncle's house in Mississippi, beaten beyond recognition, tortured, murdered, and thrown into the Tallahatchie River, all for supposedly whistling at a white woman. His attackers were acquitted in under an hour by an all-white jury. To show the brutality of the attack, his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral, which produced so much outrage that it became a touchstone event in the American Civil Rights Movement. Due to the efforts of this film's directors, this case has been reopened with new testimony against the five attackers who are still alive and subject to prosecution.
• Pride (PG): This sports drama tells the real-life story of Jim Ellis, an African-American swim coach who in the 1970s resurrected an inner-city Philadelphia public pool and recruited at-risk teens to join his swim team.

Come and volunteer on January 16^th! The purpose of the day is to focus on Dr. King's quote, "Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve." The Day of Service project is designed to give Purdue faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to engage in a community-building effort by volunteering their time and talents to help the work of non-profit agencies. The projects will soon be posted online. A light breakfast and lunch will be served. Beginning January 3^rd, You can SIGN UP HERE to participate!

For more information contact the Boiler Volunteer Network at 765-496-2450 or www.purdue.edu/bvn.

Diversity Lecture
Sponsored by College of Agriculture-Office of Multicultural Programs, College of Agriculture-Office of Academic Programs, College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Health and Human Sciences

Keynote speaker: Dr. Gary Weaver - American University