MLK Young Leaders Weekend
In January 2005 Calvin College will host its annual MLK Young Leaders Weekend, a three-day event featuring workshops, seminars, movies, worship, time for reflection and more for local high school students from racial and ethnic minority communities.
But the school currently is looking for students who want to be part of the January 14-16, 2005 weekend (which is free).
Calvin's Randal Jelks notes that a limited number of local students will be selected to participate and students must be nominated by a church, school or organization to take part. The nomination deadline is December 3. Interested people can call Calvin at 526-6749 for more information.
The weekend will be sponsored by Calvin's Office of Pre-College Programs as well as the school's new African and African Diaspora Studies minor.
"This year," says Jelks, director of the African Studies minor, "there will be two workshops blocks where students will learn about the history of the Civil Rights Movement as well as how they today can be catalysts for social change while remaining rooted in a firmament of faith."
The students, who will be joined by Calvin College students for the entire weekend, also will do a service learning project and, Jelks, says, the intent is to make a strong connection between service and thinking about the structural problems of a community.
The service learning is then followed by a time for reflection on what the various groups have learned. After free time, the community then watches a film together and is led in a "talk back" session. This year the film will be either the HBO film "Boycott" or the Spike Lee documentary "Four Little Girls."
On Sunday, the young leaders will attend a community church and then gather to think about their calling as Christian leaders.
The Calvin committee for the event includes: Rhae-Ann Booker, director of pre-college programs; Jacqueline Rhodes, assistant dean of multicultural student development; Melvin Thomas, Pathways to Possibilities coordinator; and Jelks.
The Pathways to Possibilities sponsors include the Richard D. Van Lunen Foundation, Meijer and Bank One.