"Awareness of the Past, Present, and Future"

Centenary College of Louisiana hosts an annual “Dream Week” to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The 2022 theme is Awareness of the Past, Present, and Future. Dream Week activities are listed below:

Monday, January 17

Annual MLK Service Day - 50 Passport Points

View photos from MLK Service Day.

1:30 - 2:00 pm • Registration – Kilpatrick Circle
2:00 - 4:00 pm • Service Events
4:00 - 5:00 pm • Reception and Celebration – The Shell

Projects include:

• Writing advocacy letters to local, state, and national officials; compiling Dream Week notes for local senior citizens residing in nursing facilities. Participants will be provided pens, paper, and envelopes.
• Centenary Neighborhood trash collection
• Assembling supply baskets for the Volunteers of America’s McAdoo residential facility for individuals with chronic mental illness.
• Centenary Community Garden - For this opportunity, please wear warm clothing that you do not mind getting dirty.

Participants must serve from beginning to end of the project to receive a Dream Week t-shirt. ALL participants will be required to wear masks.

View photos from MLK Service Day.

Tuesday, January 18

Chapel Service “Don’t Wake Up From This Dream!”- 50 Passport Points

11:15 am • Brown Chapel
Speaker • Minister Lenard Adams, ‘13

MLK Convocation - “The Condition of Affairs in Georgia: How Reconstruction Era Georgia Informs the Debate Over Voting Rights Today” - 75 Passport Points

Centenary alumna and Associate Professor of History at Covenant College, Dr. Alicia Jackson, will discuss her new book, The Recovered Life of Isaac Anderson, which reconstructs the lost history of a man born enslaved by his father who became a religious and community leader in the South.  A micro-history, Anderson's biography traces strategies used by Black southerners to challenge growing restrictions of their rights during the Reconstruction Era through the early twentieth century. Known as the nadir of race relations, Anderson’s story and those of the countless other Black leaders “lost” to history represents Black resistance as Jim Crow legislation was becoming synonymous with the region. 

Wednesday, January 19

Mental Health in the African-American Community - 50 Passport Points

7:00 pm • In-Person in the Whited Room or join on Zoom
Speaker • Brittney Ball

Join Shreveport-Bossier counselor, Brittney Ball, in person in the Whited Room or over Zoom to discuss the stigma about mental health in the African-American community and ways to overcome it. This talk will cover why mental health is as important as physical health and give some tips on ways to incorporate self-care into daily living to improve mental health overall.

Thursday, January 20

Alicia Jackson will conduct a workshop with students to discuss the techniques she used to recover the achievements of Isaac Anderson and Black political participation in Georgia during Reconstruction.  Students are encouraged to come hear Dr. Jackson discuss the challenges she faced and the research techniques she used to recover African American histories that were deliberately erased. 

Allyship--Honoring the spirit of Dr. King’s work and legacy - 50 Passport Points

This presentation will focus on Dr. King’s thoughts on allies, the need for allyship, and how allies contribute in the important landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion work.  The talk will also highlight the important tasks associated with allyship, and a framework for cultural humility.

Dr. Latoya Pierce serves as Centenary’s Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer.