Martin Luther King Week Celebrates Change

The 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Week for Peace kicks off Monday (Jan. 18) under the theme "Change: From Rhetoric to Action." Watch this video featuring Week for Peace honoree, Charles C. Teamer Sr.

The MLK Week for Peace is organized by a coalition of students, faculty and staff from Tulane, Dillard, Loyola and Xavier universities.

Charles C. Teamer Sr., the 2010 recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, talks about the
significance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Week for Peace in this video produced by Alicia Duplessis Jasmin,
with photos by Paula Burch-Celentano.

Carolyn Barber-Pierre, assistant vice president of student affairs at Tulane, says the week will begin with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, which is designed to give students and other members of the community an opportunity to do something with their day off and instead make it a "day on."

"We have 30 different projects to choose from," says Barber-Pierre. "The opportunities are broad and varied and impact a number of issues including wetlands restoration, energy efficiency, school and neighborhood revitalization, education, celebration of the arts and local culture and more."

Other activities include the MLK Convocation on Wednesday (Jan. 20) in McAlister Auditorium at Tulane at 6:30 p.m. with an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Lavin-Bernick Center's Qatar Ballroom. The keynote speaker is nationally syndicated columnist, author and CNN contributor, Roland S. Martin.

As part of the celebration, the presidents of the four universities select a recipient for the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. This year's recipient is Charles C. Teamer Sr., co-founder and chairman of the Dryades Savings Bank, chair of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce in New Orleans, and emeritus board member of Tulane University.

The week concludes with the student-led Expressions of Unity and Unity Step on Friday (Jan. 22) at 7 p.m. at the Dillard University Cook Theater.

For more information, call 504-865-5181 or go to the MLK Week for Peace website. All events are free and open to the public.