MLK Jr. Week 2022
All events hosted by Concerned Black Students (CBS) and The McClain Center for Diversity:
Movie Night: Selma
Monday, Jan. 17
8:30 p.m.
Blair Hall, Room 101
A film based on the historic 1965 march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that helped guarantee equal voting rights for Black people and galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.
Cookies and Conversations - Alumni Panel
Wednesday, Jan. 19
5-7 p.m.
Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center, Bayley Auditorium (Sci 152A)
African American Wittenberg Alumni panelists will talk about their experiences at WITT, discuss the history of the CBS walkout, and answer questions from current CBS members.
Poetry slam with poet Akeem Olaj and student performers
Thursday, Jan. 20
7 p.m.
Benham-Pence Student Center, Founders Pub
Akeem's bio and promo videos
Breaking Chains
Friday, Jan. 21
6:30 p.m.
McClain Center for Diversity
Students will do an activity to help them process any internal or societal issue they would like to "let go" of or change.
CBS Kickball & Dodgeball Tournament
Saturday, Jan. 22
5 p.m.
The Steemer, Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex
CBS will be holding kickball and dodgeball games in the Steemer. Everyone is invited to join in for fun while eating pizza and enjoying some good music.
Black History Month 2021
Wittenberg University offered a wide range of outstanding programming for Black History Month 2021. Learn More
MLK Virtual Convocation & Faculty Presentations
Wittenberg University offered a series of virtual presentations on January 19 and 21, 2021, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Week. The presentations were sponsored by The Concerned Black Students and The Faculty Diversity Advisory Committee. Click here to watch some of the presentations
Unity March
Developed in an effort to promote interracial unity between Wittenberg University and the City of Springfield. Each year, students organize the march that begins on campus, moves through the City of Springfield, and ends back on campus with singing and activities that reflect the unity seen in this community. Bands, choirs, and student organizations all cooperate to make this one of the most successful campus events each year. View Photos from past Unity Marches...
CBS Walkout
Concerned Black Student (CBS) hosts an annual Walkout to pay tribute to the 38 of the university’s then-45 black students who walked off campus in protest in 1969 after negotiations surrounding 14 demands for racial diversity between the administration and the then-recently founded CBS failed. According to William Kinnison’s Modern Wittenberg, the second of his two-part history of Wittenberg, the list of demands presented by CBS in 1969 included the recruitment of more black students, the hiring of black faculty and staff, and the offering of courses in black studies. The list of demands was prompted by the unwarranted arrest of three black guests who were visiting from another school, and the protest ended after CBS and the administration reached an agreement. View Photos from past Walkouts...
- Read the 2009 Wittenberg Magazine Article about the 40th Anniversary of the CBS Walkout: A Time of Transformation