Jan. 10, 2011

Briar Cliff University to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Briar Cliff University students and faculty will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with “We Shall Overcome” at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, in the Chapel of Our Lady of Grace on campus.

This free event commemorating the late civil rights leader will feature musical selections from the Consecrated Mass Choir of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Sioux City, under the direction of Alphonso McClain, director of music at Mount Zion.

Civil rights activist Joanne Bland, co-founder and former director of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, Ala., will speak about her experiences in the nation’s most consequential civil rights battles. Bland began her involvement in civil rights activism in 1961 at a freedom and voters’ rights meeting led by Dr. King. Currently, she owns and operates “Journeys for the Soul,” a touring agency specializing in Civil Rights tours with a major focus on Selma.

At the event, the Reverend Dr. Floyd E. Brown of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church will provide reflection. Leading the prayer will be Dillian Broadnax, a Briar Cliff freshman biology major from Cedar Hill, Texas. Following the event, there will be a reception in the Saint Clare Room in the Stark Student Center on campus.

This event is sponsored by BCU’s Multicultural and Leadership Programs. For more information, please contact Darrell Lofton, director of Multicultural and Leadership Programs, at 279-5512.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,150 students from 29 states and 11 other countries. Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care, compassion and service. For more information, please visit briarcliff.edu.

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