Local reflections, Spike Lee film screening added to Martin Luther King Jr. Day programs at CUC

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Community talk, Spike Lee film screening announced as latest Martin Luther King Day programs at Concordia

Jan. 7, 2009 - Like millions of people across the nation this Martin Luther King. Jr. Day, Oak Park residents the Rev. Donald Becker and the Rev. Wesley Wilkie will be reflecting on King’s legacy and the next day’s inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president.

Becker, pastor emeritus at First Immanuel Lutheran Church on Chicago’s Near West Side, and Wilkie, associate professor emeritus at Concordia, will do so drawing on their personal experiences with the civil rights movement and Dr. King.

The community is invited to join Becker and Wilkie for a community talk titled “Fulfilling the Dream” at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Alumni Room of the Koehneke Community Center on the Concordia campus, 7400 Augusta St., River Forest. Free, handicapped-accessible parking is available in the University’s parking structure on Bonnie Brae Street.

“Both men, who have impacted so many lives in this area over the years, have been asked to reflect on Barack Obama's election in terms of their efforts of some 40 years ago,” said Lila Kurth, Ph.D., panel organizer and professor of English at Concordia.

Becker was pastor at First Immanuel in 1958 to 1996. During the 1960s, as the congregation integrated and became active in the civil rights movement, Becker marched with Dr. King in Chicago while the congregation hosted the civil rights leader for several visits. Through the year, Becker has also served with the Chicago chapter of Lutheran Human Relations Association and the Board of Directors of ARRISE, an organization serving autistic children and adults. He was chaplain at the University of Illinois Medical Center and campus pastor for the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Cook County School of Nursing, and Rush Medical College.

Co-panelist Wilkie joined Concordia University Chicago in 1964 as associate professor of theology, also directing its pre-seminary program and chairing the Multicultural Education Committee while serving in numerous other capacities. He later took a leave of absence from the River Forest campus to become acting president and academic dean at the University’s sister institution in Alabama, Concordia College-Selma. There, he became actively involved in the civil rights movement and marches in Selma.

Also newly announced to Concordia’s annual Martin Luther King Day Jr. programs is a screening and discussion of director Spike Lee’s acclaimed 2006 documentary “When the Levees Broke,” examining Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, aftermath and impact on New Orleansians. Open to the community, the free screening also takes place at 2:30 p.m., in the Koehneke Community Center.

Additional Concordia events on Jan. 19 observing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day include:

• At 11 a.m., a service of praise at the Chapel of Our Lord on campus.
  Preaching on “The Fire Next Time” based on 2 Peter 3:1-14 will be the Rev. Harry Therwanger, pastor of First Immanuel Lutheran Church. Concordia campus pastor the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Leininger, the Rev. Keith Haney of the Northern Illinois District Office of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Concordia President John F. Johnson also will participate. Concordia music ensembles Schola Cantorum and Resonanz will provide music.
   
• At 1 p.m., a Martin Luther King Jr. Day talk by Bronzeville artist Floyd Atkins, at the Ferguson Art Gallery.
  Atkins’ newest works explore African American perceptions in “The Abstract Truth: New Oil Paintings and Drawing,” on exhibit through Feb. 1 as part of the gallery’s celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month.
   
• Beginning at 6 p.m., a “Fire of Diversity” march and discussion forum
  sponsored by the Black Student Union and the Striving to Overcome Prejudice Committee.
  Participants will meet on the campus “triangle” on the west side of Mary-Martha Hall for kick-off speech by Concordia President Johnson. Marchers will walk through campus to the strains of spirituals and inspirational music. Video and audio will feature footage of the civil rights movement and speeches from leaders including Dr. King, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and President-elect Barack Obama.
   
• At 7 p.m., a panel discussion moderated by Clay King, director of the St. Louis Youth Mentoring Program,
  addressing multiculturalism in today’s society.

For Concordia students, faculty and staff, the Black Student Union and Sodexho Food Service also have arranged for Dr. King’s last meal—including fried tilapia, mashed potatoes and corn—to be served as lunch in the dining hall that day.

“In coming together, we want to acknowledge through Dr. King’s speeches and song that we connect with the reasons he led the civil rights movement,” said Maurice King, Black Student Union president at Concordia.

“We celebrate that change has taken place in America, yet we continue to work for diversity and his vision. That flame still burns in our generation, that great power in equality and justice for all.”

About Concordia University Chicago

Concordia University Chicago is a liberal arts-based Christian university in the Lutheran tradition. Through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education, and College of Graduate and Innovative Programs, Concordia offers more than 60 areas of study in small classes taught by professors who are passionate about teaching and student success.

With more than 4,200 full-time undergraduate and graduate students, Concordia University Chicago is located in River Forest, 10 miles west of downtown Chicago. Learn more at www.cuchicago.edu.

Kim McCullough, Director of Community and Media Relations
708-209-3122 or kim.mccullough@cuchicago.edu