WCC to offer interactive talk on MLK's 'I Have a Dream'
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on January 16, 2017 9:57 AM
Full Size
Dean Lawson
Full Size
David Craig
Full Size
Ray Burrell
Full Size
Mike Bloom
Full Size
Patrick Breshears
Full Size
Shycole Simpson-Carter
Wayne Community College is taking a different approach to Martin Luther King Day this year -- through an interactive discussion of how we as a country can move toward accomplishing the "dream of the dreamer."
Dr. King's prolific "I Have a Dream" speech still resonates nearly 50 years after his passing, prompting the college's Cultural Diversity/Global Education Task Force to use it as the centerpiece of Thursday's program, planned for 11 a.m. in Moffatt Auditorium.
"From Here to the Dream" is free and open to the public, said Andrea Freile, communications instructor at WCC and chairperson of the task force.
"We want to talk about his dream. His dream wasn't just about race and equality -- it was about all men being created equal," she said. "That's our inspiration for bringing about issues like this.
"It's time to talk about this. It's time for the community in a very organic honest way, with respect and integrity of each other, to bring awareness to our community."
In years past, the January event has featured a speaker or a movie night.
"We want to take it to the next level," she said. "Our task force, we have realized that we're ready, and we want to prepare Millennials to lead and succeed in a global world.
"Rather than invite a speaker from somewhere else, we have incredible talent resources already in our midst who already feel passionate about social change, community engagement, personal responsibility and ownership."
WCC boasts some stellar talent on its campus, Ms. Freile said -- instructors and faculty who passionately encourage and inspire students in their classrooms.
Five of them, plus a community member, have been chosen to participate in an interactive panel -- each of whom will speak briefly before collectively fielding questions from the audience and remotely.
"We envision a very active, dynamic event," Ms. Freile said. "We picked these faculty members because they're very much about community engagement."
"They offer a historical perspective," added Elvira Johnson, a career counselor and task force member. "These are not just people that have an opinion."
Panelists include Mike Bloom, academic skills center coordinator; Patrick Breshears, social studies teacher at Wayne Early/Middle College; Ray Burrell, economics instructor; David Craig, sociology instructor; Dr. Dean Lawson, history instructor; and Shycole Simpson-Carter Goldsboro community relations director.
Moderator will be Bill Reboli, WCC psychology instructor.
"Each speaker is going to speak for five to seven minutes and then there will be a question and answer time from the audience," Ms. Freile said. "One of the things that our task force also realizes is that all students are not comfortable asking a question so we have explored other ways (to do this).
"Students can text the question and we're going to be projecting the questions on a screen so panelists can answer."
The Thursday event is expected to last about 90 minutes. It will be live-streamed for viewing online, at http://goo.gl/nZ36QD. To participate in the question and answer portion, text questions to 919-759-5332. The session will also be recorded and available for viewing after it ends.