Martin Luther King Jr Day 2014 Events

Salt Lake Community College’s 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. events will be the best yet. The events will be even better with your participation and the participation of your students.

This year, the distinguished guests will even be available to come to SLCC classrooms.

                                                                                                    

Sharon Ewell Foster is an eloquent speaker on issues that would interest Dr. King today. Her acclaimed work—she’s won the NAACP Book of the Year award, a Golden Pen award from the Black Writers Alliance among others—explores love, diversity, and hope.  

Ms. Foster will be available to attend classes on January 28, 2014. Her appearance presents a wonderful opportunity to enrich and deepen classes across a range of disciplines.

In addition to her availability for classes, Ms. Foster will participate in a panel discussion and 2014 Humanitarian Awardees moderated by Dr. John McCormick at noon on January 29 in the Oak Room.

The final program for our MLK events will be held on January 30 at 7:30 p.m. at South City Campus. Dennis Slaughter of Boston will be the featured artist on Thursday evening joined by the G Brown Jazz Ensemble and vocalists Glory Johnson-Stanton, Christine Littlefield, and Tammy Hanson.

Sharon Ewell Foster was recently named recipient of the Civil War Institute’s 2012 Michael Shaara Prize for excellence in Civil War fiction for her novel, The Resurrection of Nat Turner.

An inspired, but risky, midlife career move at the turn of the millennium changed the course of her life. Formerly, a Defense Department instructor, writer, researcher, analyst, and logistician, she is a now a critically acclaimed, award-winning author and speaker.

Her first historical novel, Passing by Samaria, was chosen as the NAACP Book of the Year in 2000 and won her the Christy Award – she remains the only African American to win the award for inspirational fiction. She is author of eight other books--including the Essence bestselling Ain’t No River and the Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choice-winning Abraham’s Well (a story of people of African descent on the Trail of Tears)--that have earned her a loyal following that crosses market, gender, and racial boundaries.

T.D. Jakes says of Foster, "Sharon writes the books that make our spirits soar and our minds glide blithely from page to page. Sharon writes for those of us who want more than just words on a page, but pictures painted on the canvasses of our minds. She has proven to be the Picasso of the Pen!"

Foster has been a contributor to Daily Guideposts for over 10 years. Born in Texas, raised in Illinois, she now resides in North

Carolina.

Dennis L. Slaughter currently works as Organizational Specialist for the National Education Association. He is also Artistic Director and Founder of Boston Community Choir, Artistic Director of the Boston Pops Gospel Choir, and Director of Music for the Parkway United Methodist Church in Milton, MA.

As a result of Slaughter’s efforts as its Artistic Director, the Boston Community Choir has become well-known throughout the Boston area for its inspired and uplifting performances. In its special way, this choir is adding to the very rich and exciting history of gospel music.

The Boston Pops Gospel Choir, which includes members of the Boston Community Choir, was originally brought together to perform in the first "Gospel Night at POPS" in 1993. "Gospel Night" is a result of the vision and commitment of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Cultural Diversity Committee. The goal was to increase the diversity of Symphony Hall’s patronage and developed Gospel Night to appeal to a broader-than-traditional audience. Gospel Night has since become an annual event that continues to feature the choir.

At Parkway United Methodist Church, Bro. Dennis, as he is affectionately known, is a mentor and inspiration to the youth of the church. Congregants have learned to read music, play instruments and learn to develop their vocals under his tutelage. The youth of the congregation are developing a greater love for music and singing. Dr. Dennis L. Slaughter has brought a rich blend of gospel, contemporary, and traditional music to the entire congregation at Parkway UMC. Under his leadership, the choir enthusiastically enriches the weekly services with their gifts of music. Dr. Slaughter works to inspire all--young and old--to embrace their culture and to be their best.