Jan. 5, 2016
Contact Keith Knutson at 608-796-3496 or kaknutson@viterbo.edu or Richard Breaux at 608-785-8309 or rbreaux@uwlax.edu
LA CROSSE COMMUNITY ANNUAL REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION TO FEATURE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND AUTHOR SHEYANN WEBB-CHRISTBURG AT VITERBO UNIVERSITY JAN. 18
LA CROSSE, Wis. – American civil rights activist and author Sheyann Webb-Christburg will present “My Childhood Experiences with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” as the keynote address at the La Crosse Community Annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.
Called the “Smallest Freedom Fighter” by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Webb-Christburg was nine years old in 1965 when she participated in the iconic civil right march known as “Bloody Sunday.” She was also part of the integration of an all-white junior high school in Selma where she endured vile name calling, being spit on, and pushed down stairs. She preserved through the hardship and went on to graduate with honors from Tuskegee University and has dedicated herself to making a change in the world through the civil rights movement and living each day with love, grace, and compassion. She serves as a youth mentor and has numerous civic and community service awards.
Webb-Christburg is the co-author of Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights Days, which was later made into a Disney movie that was nominated for a NAACP Image Award. She has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and many other major media television and radio programs. She was also featured in the PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize and was portrayed in Selma the award-winning 2015 major motion picture.
The La Crosse Community Annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration is free and open to the public. It will feature music by Viterbo music department faculty member Diana Cataldi, the Viterbo Concert Choir, internationally known motivational music artist Mario Street, and Aaron Matthews, director of liturgical music at St. Charles Parish in Hartland. It will also include the presentation of the MLK Leadership Award. The award honors extraordinary contributions to the La Crosse community that demonstrate Rev. King’s legacy of positive change from generation to generation. Bethany Brent, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse multicultural advisor and recruiter, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration is organized by the La Crosse Community Annual Rev. Martin King Jr. Celebration Committee and is hosted by Viterbo University. Webb-Christburg’s appearance is co-sponsored by the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership. The event is held each year to celebrate the legacy of this American hero and icon.
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