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Community and Culture
Virginia Wesleyan serves neighbors and celebrates diversity on MLK Day and into Black History Month
By Stephanie Smaglo | January 15, 2015
Each January, Americans come together on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to celebrate equal rights and, in honor of King’s humanitarian efforts, to serve their neighbors. This sense of community continues into February as the nation reflects on African-American culture throughout Black History Month. Virginia Wesleyan will begin its spring 2015 semester with activities dedicated to these important historical observances, engaging students, faculty and staff and the surrounding community in meaningful service and learning opportunities.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19), volunteers from Virginia Wesleyan and Teens With a Purpose, as part of Western Bayside Churches United, will participate in the nationwide initiative MLK Day of Song and Service. A pancake breakfast will be held for senior residents of Virginia Beach’s Lake Edward area with an intergenerational sing-along led by Teens With a Purpose/Music Made Simple and other community music leaders. The College joins volunteers across the country who will lead music-making activities at children's hospitals, VA centers, churches and other high-need locations.
"Martin Luther King Jr. Day is about bringing people together,” says VWC Director of Community Service Diane Hotaling. “Through the universal language of music, we can unite senior citizens and the younger generations in service to one another. It's a perfect way to celebrate the life of Dr. King."
This celebration characterizes the ongoing collaborative relationship between VWC and the neighboring Western Bayside and Lake Edward community. For more than 25 years, the College’s community service efforts—including elementary school mentoring programs like Marlins Read and Marlins Count—have made a difference in the area.
VWC recently launched Readings With Wesleyan, a unique educational program that brings free college-level teaching to Lake Edward’s adult residents. The program began in July 2014 with a theme of “Engaging the Dream,” in which VWC faculty members led participants in a critical analysis of literature by Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, poet Langston Hughes and singer/songwriter Tupac Shakur. The next installment will begin in February with programming led by the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, titled “World Religions 101: A Quick Look at Religions around the World and in Hampton Roads.”
Literature will continue to play a significant role throughout Black History Month as the College participates in the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) National African American Read-In. Works by African-American authors will be highlighted with a book display in Hofheimer Library; an open-mic night for VWC students; and an on-campus reading by performance poet Nathan Richardson on Feb. 10 (Blocker Auditorium, 11-11:50 a.m.).
“One of the primary benefits of a liberal arts education is that we look at the world through a variety of lenses,” says Batten Associate Professor of Education Hilve Firek, who is helping to implement the NCTE initiative at VWC. “The African American Read-In encourages us to look at our world through literature—both spoken and written—with historical and social perspectives from writers of the past and present.”
The VWC community will also have an opportunity to reflect on the African-American culture through an instrumental lens, as jazz flutist Galen Abdur-Razzaq performs on Feb. 11 (Boyd Dining Center, 10-11 a.m.). Abdur-Razzaq will also give a lecture on “Women in Jazz” during his visit.
For additional information on upcoming events and service opportunities, visit the Campus Events Calendar.