Walker

ELKINS – Two local colleges will offer multiple events with conversations, keynote speakers and community service in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday.

Davis & Elkins College invites students, staff and the public to join in the college’s annual MLK Day celebration at 7 p.m. Monday.

The event will take place at the Robbins Memorial Chapel on the college’s campus and is described as a “Service Renewal & Recommitment” led by the Benfield-Vick Chaplain’s Office, with contributions from the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith & Public Policy.

The Chapel gathering will kick off D&E’s “Week On For Service,” which honors Dr. King’s vision of the “Beloved Community.”

D&E events celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and legacy will continue on Wednesday, Jan. 21, with the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith & Public Policy hosting a “Tough Talks” conversation at 7 p.m. in the Robbins Memorial Chapel.

“This year, we will gather for conversation, reflection and community service to celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Benfield-Vick Chaplain Tanner Capps said in a release from D&E. “Hopefully, our contributions to Tyrand Cooperative Ministries and the Centers Against Violence will be a small step toward building the ‘Beloved Community’ that Dr. King often spoke about.”

To close out the “Week On,” students, faculty and staff will gather in Robbins Memorial Chapel on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. to pack food boxes for Tyrand Cooperative Ministries and hygiene kits for Centers Against Violence. These materials will be delivered to Tyrand and CAV the following day by the Benfield-Vick Chaplain’s office and its work study students.

Those who are interested in contributing peanut butter and/or jelly for food box donations, or hygiene kit materials such as bar soap, disposable razors, washcloths, travel-sized shampoo and conditioner, can email cappsf@dewv.edu, or text or call 304-801-3282 to arrange a drop off.

“As Drs. Sonnette Basco and Benjamin Espinoza write, ‘We can trace King’s advocacy for the beloved community to his theology, particularly his firm commitment to the doctrine of the Imago Dei, the truth that all humans are created in the image of God. For King, the implications of Imago Dei spanned from our respectful treatment of our neighbors to peaceful opposition to unjust wars. This principle served as a cornerstone for King’s entire project,'” Capps said in the release. “So, in our own way at D&E this January, we hope to honor this.”

In Buckhannon, West Virginia Wesleyan College will also come together to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, with its annual dinner and keynote speaker.

Hosted by the Center for Cultural and International Affairs, the college’s annual dinner will begin at 5 p.m. in the French See Dining Room side dining hall. The meal is free for students with a fee for guests.

This year’s keynote speaker, Danielle Walker, will speak around the theme of Non-Violence 365: Creating a Community of Peace and Love.

Walker is a former West Virginia House of Delegates member for District 51 and District 81, and is the former vice chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party. She is now a consultant, motivational speaker and writer.

In 2022, the West Virginia University Center for Black Culture and Research presented Walker with the Martin Luther King Achievement Award for her advocacy and activism. She is also a recipient of the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union Roger N. Baldwin Award.

Christiana Mande, a WVWC class of 2027 student, will be a vocalist for the program, with Matthew Harris, the Minister of Music at New New Hope Baptist Church in Beckley also singing. Sneha Sundaraneedi, president of the International Student Organization, will introduce Walker.