Three days of events, unified under a theme of "Communities in Action: Empowering The Dream" will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. from Feb. 6 to 8.

The popular 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Ceremony will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, in Tyler Hall's Waterman Theatre. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for this event that is free and open to the public.

The event will include an evening of ritual theatre featuring novelist Arthur Flowers, known as the High Hoodoo of Memphis and a professor emeritus of Syracuse University, as well as the executive director of the Griot Shop and a practitioner of literary hoodoo.

As a performance artist in the Griotic School of African American literature, Flowers will present an evening of literary theatre incorporating blueswork, storytelling, Afro-spiritual ritual, spoken-word and Black Baptist oratory with musical accompaniment –- 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."

The ceremony also will include student readings and performances.  

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 the 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.

-- Submitted by Student Engagement Leadership