A performance by novelist, performer and educator Arthur Flowers -- as well as student readings and performances -- will highlight SUNY Oswego's 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Ceremony, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, in Waterman Theatre.

The popular tradition kicks off three days of events celebrating the life and legacy of the Civil Rights leader, with a theme of "Communities in Action: Empowering The Dream" and including an art exhibition reception and a day of service.

Flowers, known as the High Hoodoo of Memphis and a professor emeritus of Syracuse University, will present an evening of ritual theatre chronicling and celebrating the Black experience.

The executive director of the Griot Shop and a practitioner of literary hoodoo, Flowers is a performance artist in the Griotic School of African American literature. At Oswego, he will present an evening of literary theatre incorporating blues work, storytelling, Afro-spiritual ritual, spoken word and Black Baptist oratory with musical accompaniment –- all of which he describes as "a Holyground Healing in the name of the King."

"Welcome to the Traveling Medicine Show," Flowers says in his promotional materials. "Whatever ails you, I will cure it for sure. If I can’t cure you, I will ease your troubled mind."

As always, the keynote will be complemented by performances and readings by SUNY Oswego students related to the event's theme.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the MLK Jr. Ceremony, which is free and open to the public.

Celebration continues

An MLK Celebration, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, in Tyler Art Gallery, will dovetail with the opening reception for the "Justice and Inalienable Rights" exhibition. Built around work in the Tyler Art Gallery permanent collection and work on loan from the Armand-Paul Family, this exhibition presents visual work that explores the inalienable rights of all people.

The third annual MLK Day of Service will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Marano Campus Center's Swetman Gym. In partnership with Rise Against Hunger, this event is open to all volunteers who would like to participate in this program. Participants can choose from two different two-hour shifts -- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. and should register for this event via this Laker Life link. 

In addition, the event will include the 2025 Tree of Life. Students are encouraged to make their mark on SUNY Oswego's Tree of Life with their handprints, coordinating each handprint and color with a value that is most important to them.

For more information on these events, email Student Engagement Leadership, student.engagement@oswego.edu.