With the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama just days away, the achievements of the civil rights movement will have a special significance this Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Co-sponsored by Vanderbilt's Black Student Alliance, the on-campus events feature a presentation by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founder Charles McDew. His talk, entitled "Votes, Voices and Victory: How Far Have We Come?," will be the keynote event of this year's festivities. Founded in 1960, SNCC is a student organized peaceful protest movement that made many inroads in the fight for desegregation.
"MLK day is obviously going to be different, more special, this year," said first-year student Jessica Aviles. "Having an SNCC founder speak has a lot of meaning considering the inauguration of our first black president."
McDew, raised in the town of Massillon, Ohio, first demonstrated in the eighth grade when he protested the violation of the religious freedoms of local Amish students. McDew later attended South Carolina State College, becoming a student leader in the sit-in movement his freshman year.
He served as chairman of SNCC from 1961 to 1964, overseeing the desegregation of local facilities, the establishment of freedom schools and voter registration. Most notably, SNCC encouraged local leadership, eventually challenging the Mississippi Democratic Party at their Atlantic City convention during the summer of 1964. President Bill Clinton honored McDew as an American Hero for his work in the civil rights movement.
McDew now serves in organizations for social and political change. He works as a teacher and labor organizer, manages anti-poverty programs in Washington, D.C. and serves as community organizer in Boston and San Francisco, according to his personal Web site. McDew recently retired from Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis, Minn.
This year's events will also include a talk by Minister of Health to the Republic of Botswanta Lesego Motsumi and performances by Vanderbilt's Jeremiah Generation Praise Team, Spoken Word and the Nashville A capella group Nu Image.
McDew is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Monday at Benton Chapel.
