Saint Anselm College
2025 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebratory Program
Theme: Infinite Hope
MLK Jr. Awareness Day
Monday, January 20
Sponsored by the Father Jonathan Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion
Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner
Tuesday, January 28
4:30 p.m., NHIOP
Key Note Speaker: Sudi Lett
The Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion invites all staff, faculty and students to attend the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner on Tuesday, January 30th at 4:30 p.m. at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. This year’s featured speaker is Sudi Lett, co-founder of BLM in Manchester and NH. A delicious dinner buffet will be provided.
Sponsored by the Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion, Campus Ministry and the Multicultural Student Coalition
Come Friday Forum: Do I need to be patriotic?
Friday, January 21
12:30 p.m., Gregory J Grappone Humanities Institute
Sponsored by the Grappone Humanities Institute
MLK Jr. Library Book Display
February 1– February 28
Location: Geisel Library
Program Description:
This year’s book display focuses on recent acquisitions in the library’s collection that address historical and persistent issues of race and racism in today’s society.
Sponsored by the Geisel Library
Imagining Black Future: Liberation Narratives as Resistant Knowledge
With Shaonta’ Allen
Assistant Professor, Sociology and African and African-American Studies, Dartmouth College
Friday, February 7
5:15-6:15 p.m., President’s Dining Room
Snacks will be provided
• Introduced by Alexandra Castillo ’17, MSW candidate in Boston College’s Latinx-Leadership Initiative program.
“Unless we have the space to imagine and a vision of what it means fully to realize our humanity, all the protests and demonstrations in the world won’t bring about our liberation.” -- Robin D.G. Kelley, Freedom Dreams
Shaonta's research and teaching examines how Black resistance to racial inequality varies across social institutions including religion, higher education, pop culture, and sports, with the goals of reclaiming the contributions of marginalized and erased voices in the field of sociology and facilitating social change. This discussion-centered presentation tracks the significant absence of liberation as a focus within sociology and presents her work on Black Millennials’ visions of liberation in order to facilitate reflection and discussion on what Black liberated futures might look like.
African American Music Concert
Wednesday, February 12,
12:30-1:15 p.m. – Koonz Theatre
Music Faculty and Student Common Hour Concert: A Celebration of African American music in the Koonz Theatre in the Dana Center.
Sponsored by the Fine Arts Department & Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion
Education Equity and Boston Busing: 60 Years Later
Wednesday, February 12
7 p.m., McCready Event Space
Panel Discussion
- Michael Curry
- Woullard Lett
Co Host Michael Curry, President and CEO at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and Chair of the NAACP’s National Board’s Advocacy and Policy Committee, and Woullard Lett, head of the Education Equity committee at the Manchester branch of the NAACP.
Campus Mass
Sunday, February 12
9:00 p.m., Abbey Church
Sponsored by Campus Ministry
CAB MLK Jr./Black History Month Trivia
Thursday February 13th
7:00 p.m. - The Coffee Shop
Come and see what you know about Martin Luther King Jr. and what was happening while he was alive! Answer questions about 60's music, social movements, MLK Jr, and more!
Sponsored by The Campus Activity Board
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Friday, February 14, 2025
7:30 p.m., Koonz Theater
Paul Simon’s 1987 Graceland Album introduced the world to Ladysmith Black Mambazo and their rich tenor/alto/bass harmonies. This a Capella vocal group embodies the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions and has continued to engage global audiences for over 60 years while garnering five Grammy Awards and 19 nominations. Known for their uplifting, melodious sound, dances move and onstage banter, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has performed for millions, and has recorded with numerous artists and for many films singing their message of peace and love.
Sponsored by the Dana Center
Read Between the Lines
Monday February 17th
4:30 p.m. – Geisel Reading Room, Geisel Library
Storytime in the Library! Join us for coffee, cocoa, snacks and stories. Staff and students will read folk stories about Black History to students. Blankets provided!
Sponsored by Geisel Library and the Intercultural Center
Feasting with James Baldwin: Food and Music He Loved
A 3-part event-you can come to one or more
Wednesday, February 19
4:00 p.m. - LLC Classroom & LLC Kitchen
A meal in honor of James Baldwin’s 100th birthday celebrating the “Frenchness and Black Americana” that he loved in food, and the “double-edged Black music” that he loved.
- What nourished Baldwin—these things, and friendship/love
- What can nourish us now …
Sponsored by the Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion
Unity Retreat (Many Roads, One Journey)
Friday, February 21 to Saturday, February 22
Saint Methodios Meeting & Retreat Center
Please register in the Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion by Friday, February 7. There are only 40 spaces available so please register early. This event is free to students, and will highlight courageously conversing, intersectionality, and how to be a student leader.
Sponsored by the Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion
Come Friday: The Great American Novel
Friday, February 21
12:30 p.m., Gregory J Grappone Humanities Institute
How is the Great American Novel connected to the American Dream? Hosts Paige Potts (’27) and Kaylee Marroquin-Molina (’28) lead discussion of these concepts, in relation to Gloria Naylor’s novel The Women of Brewster Place.
Sponsored by the Grappone Humanities Institute
Student Panel: Why You Talk Like That
Tuesday, February 25
4:00 p.m., Event Space
Student Moderator: Paige Potts
Why to Talk Like That? Explores the relationship between language and cultural identity. The black experience, more specially, the black American experience has been riddled with injustice.
Join students from the Multicultural Student Coalition, Men of Color and Women of Color Group as they consider and grapple with the concept that language is power and it becomes the assertion of one’s personal experience.
Sponsored by the Multicultural Student Coalition, Men of Color, and Women of Color.
Black Men Thriving: Cultivating Belonging at SAC
Wednesday, February 26
7 p.m., Goulet Science Reading Room
A community program that aims to create a sense of belonging and connection for Black men at Saint Anselm College. This program will use activities like small group discussions, brainstorming sessions, and sharing personal narratives to help students create a supportive environment
Sponsored by the Center for Intercultural Learning and Inclusion and Men of Color.
And Now I see: Race, Racism, and American Music presented by Ball in the House
Friday, February 28
8:00 p.m. – Dana Center-Koonz Theater
This show explores African American music, from Spirituals, Gospel, and Jazz to Soul, Hip-Hop, and R&B by demonstrating where each style came from and why, as well as the cultural/social evolution of these styles and their influences and connect them to the contemporary styles of today. This is done through stories and musical examples, all done in Ball in the House’s signature a cappella style. The show celebrates the enormous influence of African American music and musicians, but also delves into how racism affected these musical styles in general and how it affected specific musical artists.
Sponsored by the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership
MLK Jr. Debate
Wednesday, March 12
7:00 p.m., Perini Lecture Hall
As part of the MLK Program of Events, the College Debate Team annually holds a public debate on a matter related to civil rights and liberties.
• Discussion Topic: A Living wage is a Civil Right
Sponsored by the Debate Team