Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Commemoration
Ignite the Legacy Within: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Commemoration | Jan. 15-18, 2024
Our collective vision for the MLK Commemoration is to provide our campus with intentional programming and dialogue that celebrates Rev. Dr. MLK Jr.’s timeless legacy and examine his teachings through various learning formats including lectures, workshops, exhibits and much more. We are excited to introduce our 2nd Annual MLK Commemoration with the theme- Ignite the Legacy Within, scheduled from Monday, January 15 to Thursday, January 18, 2024. All events are open to students, faculty, staff, and the greater community. Below is the schedule of programs with program descriptions and Zoom links for selected events.
Sponsored by RTC Associated Student Government, RTC Library, and the Office of DEI.
Special thank you to the 2024 MLK Commemoration Planning Committee: Mica Hunter, Joyce Nicholas, Chelsea Paulsen, Cle Roseboro II, Maritza Ogarro, and Doris Martinez.
Schedule of Programs
Monday, Jan. 15
King Day at Northwest African American Museum
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Sponsored by RTC Associated Student Government
Join us, the Associated Student Government & Office of DEI, for an enriching and eye-opening
experience at the Northwest African American Museum, where you'll immerse yourself
in the rich history and cultural heritage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - an opportunity
not to be missed!
Transportation and Lunch will be provided.
Students, to register, contact Mica Hunter, Director of Student Life, at mhunter@rtc.edu.
Tuesday, Jan. 16
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin-film screening
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Blencoe Auditorium, C Building- 1st Floor & Zoom
During his 60-year career as an activist, organizer, and "troublemaker," Bayard Rustin formulated many of the strategies that propelled the American civil rights movement. His passionate belief in Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence drew Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders to him in the 1940s and 50s; his practice of those beliefs drew the attention of the FBI and police. In 1963, Rustin brought his unique skills to the crowning glory of his civil rights career: his work organizing the March on Washington, the biggest protest America had ever seen. But his open homosexuality forced him to remain in the background, marking him again and again as a "brother outsider." Brother Outsider: the Life of Bayard Rustin combines rare archival footage — some of it never before broadcast in the U.S. — with provocative interviews to illuminate the life and work of a forgotten prophet of social change. Update: On August 8, 2013, President Barack Obama named Bayard Rustin, a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. – PBS Documentary
Join via Zoom
Meeting ID: 899 3527 8231
Wednesday, Jan. 17
Keynote Address by Jesse Hagopian : “Social Movement Unionism: From the Poor People’s
Campaign to Educators on Strike”
12 - 1:30 p.m.
Blencoe Auditorium, C Building- 1st Floor & Zoom
Jesse Hagopian is an award-winning educator and a leading voice on issues of educational equity, the school-to-prison-pipeline, standardized testing, the Black Lives Matter at School movement, and social justice unionism. He is an editor for Rethinking Schools magazine, an author, public speaker, organizer, and Ethnic Studies teacher at Seattle’s Garfield High School – the site of the historic teacher boycott of the MAP test in 2013. For more information on Jesse Hagopian’s work, visit https://iamaneducator.com/
Join via Zoom
Meeting ID: 850 5300 1664
Thursday, January 18
Campus Social Mixer & Bingo at The Library
11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Library, C Building- 2nd Floor
As we celebrate MLK's legacy and look toward Black History Month, RTC students, faculty, staff, and community partners are invited to join us for food, fun, music, and Bingo.
Civil Rights Eras Timeline
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration
Contributions:
- Mica Hunter
- Chelsea Paulsen
- Maritza M. Ogarro
1st Era – Pre-Civil Rights
2nd Era – The Civil Rights
3rd Era – Post Civil Rights
PRE-CIVIL RIGHTS ERA
1840 - Start of the Women’s Rights Movement (then called the women’s suffrage movement).
1851 - Sojourner Truth delivers her Ain’t I A Woman speech on African American women’s rights at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention.
1865-1866 -The Black Codes are created after the Civil War with the intention of limiting the rights of black people.
1875 - Civil Rights Act was the last major law to be passed after the Civil War. It sought to give African Americans equal treatment in public transportation and accommodations and service on juries.
1883 - The U.S. Supreme court declared The Civil Rights Act of 1875.
- Start of the Gay Rights Movement
1924 - The Society for Human Rights is founded by Henry Gerber in Chicago. The society is the first gay rights organization as well as the oldest documented in America.
1929 - Martin Luther King Jr. born on January 15th.
1944 - MLK Jr begins studying Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA).
1946 - MLK Jr writes his first major letter to an editor. The Atlanta Constitution publish King's letter stating that black people "are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens."
1948 - MLK Jr is ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
- MLK Jr receives his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Morehouse College.
- MLK Jr begins studying at Crozier Theological Seminary in Chester, PA.
1950 - Founding of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
Late 1950s - Early 1960s: Emergence of agricultural unions, such as the Filipino Farm Labor Union, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), the Agricultural Workers Association, and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA).
1951 - MLK Jr receives his Bachelor of Divinity and delivers the valedictory address.
- MLK Jr begins his graduate studies at Boston University in Systematic Theology.
- Gay men in Los Angeles, CA found the Mattachine Society "to change the self-image of gay people to produce a new pride."
1953 - President Dwight Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450, bans gay individuals from working for the federal government or any of its private contractors.
- 1st Black bus boycott Baton Rouge, LA
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ERA
Start of the Civil Rights Movement
1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court decides in Brown v. Board of Education, that racial segregation in public schools in unconstitutional.
- MLK Jr. begins as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.
1955 - MLK Jr. receives his Doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University.
- The Montgomery bus boycott lasts 13 months.
- Filipina, Rosalie “Rose” Bamberger establishes the first lesbian rights group, Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco, CA.
1957 - The Little Rock Nine begin attending classes at the once segregated Little Rock Central High School.
- Civil Rights Act of 1957 is passed, protecting voting rights from the 15th Amendment, allowing civil cases to be brought through creating a federal Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice and an executive branch Civil Rights Commission.
1960 - Lunch counter sit-ins take place launch in Greensboro, NC.
- Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) founded.
- MLK Jr. arrested in Atlanta and Robert F. Kennedy arranges MLK Jr.’s release.
- MLK Jr. endorses John F. Kennedy (JFK) for President.
1961 - Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organizes 1st Freedom Ride.
1963 - March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom organized by Bayard Rustin.
- MLK Jr. delivers his I Have A Dream speech
- President JFK asked Congress to pass Civil Rights Act of 1963 before assassination that same year.
- 400-person protest march; 35 youth from interracial Central District Youth Club stage Seattle's first sit-in, occupying Mayor's office for almost 24 hours.
- Seattle Human Rights Commission proposed by City Council and Mayor. Council establishes Commission on July 17 (Ord. 92191).
- 1,000 demonstrators march from First AME Church to Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Coincides with Martin Luther King's March on Washington.
- The Seattle Public School District becomes the first major school system in the country to initiate a voluntary desegregation plan.
- Equal Pay Act, prohibits employers from gender-based wage discrimination, is passed.
1964 - Civil Rights Act, makes discrimination and segregation on the basis to national origin, religion, sex, color or race unlawful, required equal access to public spaces, enforced the desegregation of schools and the right to vote.
1965 - Voting Rights Act is passed; makes discriminatory voting practices, especially literacy tests, unlawful.
- Malcom X assassinated.
- Seattle Residents take part in "Freedom March" supporting marchers in Selma, Alabama. Rally supported open housing legislation and equal job opportunities. Rally began at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church and ends at the United States Courthouse. The principal sponsor of the rally is the Seattle Chapter of the NAACP.
- Start of the Farmworkers Movement
1965 - 1990 - Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong led a grape growers strike in Delano, California, marking the birth of Farm Workers Movement.
1967 - Seattle Urban League launches Operation Equality, a three-year project that provides counsel to minorities seeking housing, sponsors educational projects, and works with fair housing groups to list available housing. The project receives funding from a Ford Foundation grant, the second grant of its kind in the U.S.
1968 - Fair Housing Act is passed prohibiting discrimination in the housing market based on familial status, disability, religion, national origin, sex, color, or race.
- MLK Jr. assassinated.
POST CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ERA
1969 - The Stonewall uprising ignites the modern Gay Rights Movement after police raid the popular Stonewall Inn gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
1972 - Federal civil rights law, Title IX-the Prohibition of Sex Discrimination, is passed.
- Start of the Disability Rights Movement.
1973 - Federal law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act-prohibiting employment discrimination based on disability in federally assisted programs or activities, is passed.
1977 - The 504 Sit-Ins, a non-violent disability rights protest to demand accessibility rights.
1983 - MLK Jr.’s birthday declared a federal national holiday.
1990 - The “Wheels for Justice March” ends with the “Capital Crawl” when activists leave their mobility aids and make their way up the Capital Building stairs.
- Federal law, The Americans with Disability Act (also known as the ADA) is passed prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in housing, education, employment and public services.
1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) establishing a free trade zone for the U.S, Mexico and Canada.
1998 - Section 508 Amendment - electronic and information technology accessible to all.
2000s - Laws prohibiting homosexual activity are struck down and a Supreme Court ruling legalizes same-sex marriage.
2003 - In the case of Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that state laws criminalizing private, consensual sexual activity between adults are unconstitutional, effectively decriminalizing homosexuality in the United States.
2004 - Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
2010 - The U.S. Congress repeals the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve openly in the U.S. Military.
2015 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex marriage in all fifty states.
2016-2024: Continued advancements in LGBTQ+ rights, including increased visibility and representation, as well as ongoing challenges and setbacks.
Sources
Stanford University, King Research and Education Institute Major King Events Chronology: 1929-1968
The Library of Congress The Civil Rights Era Timeline
The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project Activist Oral Histories
Seattle Municipal Archives Civil Rights Timeline
Timeline of Disability Rights in the United States Americans with Disabilites Act
Women's Rights Timeline National Archives
Timeline of Agricultural Labor in the U.S. National Farm Worker Ministry
“Gay rights timeline: Key dates in the fight for equality” - Miranda Leitsinger NBC News