'From Dr. King to the Occupy Movement'

Months before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference created the Poor People's Campaign, an organization still in existence, to address issues of economic justice and housing for the poor in the United States. Now, three Connecticut College professors will tie his efforts to current events in a Common Hour panel discussion, "From Dr. King to the Occupy Movement," on Friday, Jan. 27.

, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, , Lenore Tingle Howard '42 Assistant Professor of Economics, and Mab Segrest, Fuller- Maathai Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, will provide insight into the economic issues and social inequalities that gave rise to these movements. Said Canton, "The purpose behind this Common Hour is to link Dr. King's advocacy of economic justice with the Occupy Wall Street Movement (OWSM). When we celebrate Dr. King's holiday, we think of the I Have a Dream Speech. During the last three years of his life, King had criticized the Vietnam war, racism and income inequality.

The Common Hour will recognize King's contribution to the OWSM and provide students with a deeper understanding of King and the relevancy of the OWSM." The discussion begins at 11:50 a.m. on Jan. 27, in Room 210 of Blaustein Humanities Center. The event is sponsored by the , the Committee for the Advancement of Our Common Purposes and Race and Ethnicity Programs at Unity House, and is free and open to the public.

To view other events on campus this month, visit the Connecticut College calendar of events.

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January 26, 2012