In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., SUNY Oswego will host events from Feb. 1 to 3 to remember and celebrate his legacy.

The 35th annual MLK Ceremony will take place on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 6:30 p.m. in Tyler Hall’s Waterman Theatre and will feature “From Myth To Man: A Martin Luther King Interpretation” by Ira Knight. 

The event will include student readings and performances as well as additional remarks. Tickets are free, but are required for the ceremony and can be obtained at tickets.oswego.edu.

Knight is a playwright, producer, director, author and publisher with a commitment to maximizing his time, talents and skills. A veteran of the United States Marines Corps, Knight produces works to display and connect everybody’s common humanity, with the spirit and intent of making the world a better place than the one he entered.

In addition to being the author and publisher of five books and the playwright, director and producer of 10 staged plays, Knight created and taught a writing course, “Building Blocks Of The Writing Process,” at Duke University.

One of his most recent plays, “From Myth to Man: Martin Luther King, An Interpretation,” is a case study for the principles of this course and is currently touring universities and colleges throughout the United States.

The free tickets for this ceremony, currently available to SUNY Oswego students, will become available to faculty and staff on Jan. 26, and then the general public on Jan. 30. 

Showcasing creativity

A new event starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2 in the Shineman Center’s Nucleus will feature student performances and an art exhibit hosted by Emmy-nominated poet Jillian Hanesworth. This MLK Celebration is free and open to the public.

Born and raised on the East side of Buffalo, Hanesworth has been writing since the age of 7. After taking a break to pursue educational goals, and obtaining a bachelor’s in criminal justice and law focusing on reform, Hanesworth committed herself to social change through art, thus beginning her poetry career. 

Performing more than 200 times since, Hanesworth has let her passion lead her mission to empower listeners to take part in demanding and creating sustainable systemic change. She is the founder of Literary Freedom LLC, a community activist and organizer and the first-ever Poet Laureate in the history of Buffalo.

Day of Service

The Day Of Service returns on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Marano Campus Center food and activity court. In this culminating event of the university’s MLK celebrations, students and others in the campus community will have an opportunity to package meals for those in need as part of a partnership with Rise Against Hunger.

Those interested in helping can use this form to volunteer. 

In addition, the event will include the Tree of Life painting where students are encouraged to make their mark on SUNY Oswego's Tree of Life with their handprints, coordinating each handprint and color with the value that is the most important to them. This program is supported in part by the Student Arts Fee, administered by ARTSwego. 

For more information about any of these events, or to request accommodations to attend, email student.engagement@oswego.edu.

Emmy-nominated poet Jillian Hanesworth will host a new event celebrating student creativity, the MLK Celebration

Emmy-nominated poet Jillian Hanesworth will host a new event celebrating student creativity, the MLK Celebration starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2 in the Shineman Center’s Nucleus.