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EMU to Observe 'Dialogue on Race Week'

The late Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that "the sons of former slaves and slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

This year's Dialogue on Race Week program, Nov. 6-10 at EMU, will invite participants to come together and to address the legacy of slavery in the United States and to work at the healing process.

A short video that documents a pilot event in which the descendants of slaves and slave owners came together to work at the healing process will be shown during university chapel 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Emu's Lehman Auditorium. The documentary was produced by Shannon and Chandra Lanier. Shannon Lanier is a descendant of Sally Hemings, a slave at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and author of "Jefferson's Children." It is part of the "Coming to the Table" project that has been housed in the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding's Practice Institute.

Will Hairston, grounds supervisor at EMU and a descendant of one of the largest slave-owning families in Virginia, and Shannon Lanier will lead a discussion following the video presentation.

More Activities

Later Wednesday evening, WORSHIP 808 will host a “Come the Table of Worship” in Martin Chapel from 8:08-9p.m. All are invited to worship together in community through hymns, prayer, Latino songs and gospel selections.

Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. students, faculty and staff are invited to Strite Auditorium for an "open mic" session to share their thoughts on race as it relates to global and local issues. This event is sponsored by FLED (Future Leaders of Equality and Diversity).

At University chapel at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 10, also in Lehman Auditorium, Constance and Dain Perry, descendants of the DeWolf family, will tell their story through a video presentation, "Traces of the Trade." In the film, producer-director Katrine Brown tells the story of her forefathers, the DeWolf family, the largest slave trading family in U.S. history. Viewers will learn that Browne's ancestors were northerners, exploding the myth that slavery was confined to the South.

The week's activities will open with a "Tunnel of Oppression," a tour that brings to light issues of racism, sexism, classism and other prejudices that affect the campus community and larger society, 7-11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6. Tours begin near the Royals' Den snack shop in the University Commons and are limited to 15 people every 10 minutes.

The week's events are sponsored by the office of multicultural services and campus ministries at EMU. For more information, contact Melody Pannell at 540-432-4458.

— article by: Jim Bishop; posted November 3, 2006