Goshen College focuses on peacemaking during Jan. 18 MLK Study Day

GOSHEN, Ind. – During Goshen College's 17^th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Study Day on Monday, Jan. 18, the life and legacy of Dr. King's emphasis on making peace will be celebrated through music, poetry, prayer, story-telling, a town hall discussion and a workshop. As the college cancels daytime classes so that students can participate fully in the events, the public is also invited.

The featured guests for the day are acclaimed baritone Anthony Brown, Latina poet Brenda Cárdenas and the Indianapolis youth-led group Latino Youth Collective. Goshen College students will also perform throughout the day, including in the college's Voices-n-Harmony Gospel Choir.

The 2010 Goshen College Martin Luther King Jr. Study Day schedule:

7:30 a.m., Community Prayer Breakfast, Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall
Featuring Anthony Brown and Brenda Cárdenas with music by Voices-n-Harmony Gospel Choir and prayers from local pastors. Registration: 7 a.m. Reservations required; deadline passed.

9-9:45 a.m., "The Art of Peace" Spoken Word Coffeehouse, Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall
Poetry, readings, recitations and storytelling by GC students.

9:50 a.m.-Noon, Convocation
• Part I: Baritone Anthony Brown, poet Brenda Cárdenas and Voices-n-Harmony Gospel Choir in theChurch-Chapel
• Part II: Student leaders will facilitate a town-hall style discussion about race in the Church Fellowship Hall.

1:30-4 p.m., One Heart, One Mind Workshop, Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall
During this workshop with the Latino Youth Collective, participants will explore what it means to be of one heart and one mind by building solidarity around community issues and critically constructing a more just world. The session will include youth-created videos, student testimonies and small group discussions. The session will focus on student activism and organizing, especially as related to the DREAM Act. This is sponsored by the Goshen College Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning, and is open to the public free of charge.

Brown, a 1971 graduate of Goshen College and Artist-in-Residence at Hesston (Kan.) College, uses music to promote peace and reconciliation. He has developed a unique career applying his experience in both music and psychotherapy to reconciliation efforts around the world. His performance repertoire stretches from opera to musical theatre, oratorio to African-American spirituals.

A dynamic reader and performer, Cárdenas founded a spoken word and music ensemble called Sonido Inkquieto, and uses language to explore the interplay between Spanish and American culture. She writes in a blend of English and Spanish, which she has said reflects her interest in "the interconnectedness and juxtapositions of difference and similarity between seemingly disparate peoples, events, places, and experiences." She is the author of two collections of poetry, Boomerang (2009) and From the Tongues of Brick and Stone (2005), and a Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Latino Youth Collective (LYC) use new media and participatory action research as a way to learn and dialogue about social justice issues in our communities. The mission of LYC is to provide resources and opportunities for youth to engage in personal and community development through critical pedagogy, grassroots organizing and collective action.

Cárdenas will also offer a poetry reading on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in the college's Newcomer Center Room 19. Books will be on sale and refreshments will follow.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.