Past Events

• Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd

  Looking to the Future: MLK Week Keynote

  7:00 PM Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013. Lipinsky Auditorium

  

  
  Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd illustrates the relevance of Dr. King’s work today by combining science, education and service to create concrete change in her community and the world. She became the first African-American woman to earn an M.S.
  in mechanical engineering at Yale University. In the spirit of Dr. King, Boyd inspires change appropriate to our times. She is a prominent advocate for women’s equality and the recruitment of African Americans into science and engineering. Boyd has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Important Blacks in Technology by the Black Engineer of the Year Awards.
  
  Free and open to the public.
  
  

  MLK Week: Remembering the Past, Looking to the Future
  Jan. 21–25

  The Intercultural Center, Office of Multicultural Student Programs, Center for Diversity Education, and Cultural Events & Special Academic Programs, along with other campus organizations, host a week-long campus observance promoting the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In January, check for workshops, film screenings and volunteer work days at msp.unca.edu.

   

  All programs are subject to change.

   

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• The Parchman Hour

  Remembering the Past: Freedom Rider Vignettes

  8:00 PM Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013. Lipinsky Auditorium

  

  In the fiery first months of America's Civil Rights movement, waves of college students rode buses into the heart of the Deep South. Many were brutally attacked, arrested and imprisoned in Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm Penitentiary. To help them endure, they invented "The Parchman Hour," a live variety show inspired by radio and TV programs. The Parchman Hour, a Mike Wiley production, brings to the stage powerful oral histories and conversations from the Freedom Riders including Stokely Carmichael, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.
  
  Free and open to the public.

  "A...necessary reminder, not only of the starkest realities of the segregated South, but of the astounding resilience of those who chose to stand against it." —The Independent Weekly

   

  MLK Week: Remembering the Past, Looking to the Future
  Jan. 21–25

  The Intercultural Center, Office of Multicultural Student Programs, Center for Diversity Education, and Cultural Events & Special Academic Programs, along with other campus organizations, host a week-long campus observance promoting the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In January, check for workshops, film screenings and volunteer work days at msp.unca.edu.

   

  All programs are subject to change.

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• Climbing PoeTree

  Soul-stirring Spoken Word

  8:00 PM Tuesday, Nov 13, 2012. Lipinsky Auditorium

  

  WITH FLAWLESS CADENCE and impeccable lyricism, Alixa and Naima weave together their voices to tell powerful stories of suffering and injustice, courage and love in a world overcome with fear. Climbing PoeTree's acclaimed performance is composed of dual-voice spoken-word poetry and multimedia theatre that explores diverse themes, including healing from violence, spiritual expansion, women's empowerment, and social, environmental and racial justice. The poetry they deliver challenges its listeners to remember their humanity, dissolves apathy with hope, and addresses difficult issues in their communities.

  Welcome remarks and poem by UNC Asheville alumnus and spoken word artist Griffin Payne ('10)
  Opening act by UNC Asheville's own Cory Thompson and Colette Heiser, winners of the SAIL Slam Poetry Competition.

  Free UNC Asheville students (limit one per OneCard)
  Must have ticket to enter. UNC Asheville student tickets are available in person only with OneCard at Highsmith front desk. Any remaining student tickets will be available in person with OneCard at the door beginning at 7pm the evening of the event.

  $5 All area students (limit one; valid student I.D. required)
  $10 UNC Asheville faculty/staff/alumni/OLLI (limit one per OneCard)
  $15 General public
  Click on uncatickets.com or in person at the Highsmith Union front desk.

  All programs are subject to change.

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• Staff Benda Bilili

  Vibrant Congolese Dance Music

  8:00 PM Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012. Lipinsky Auditorium

  

  STAFF BENDA BILILI'S mesmerizing rumba-rooted grooves, overlaid with vibrant vocals and extraordinary solos performed by a teenage prodigy (on a one-string electric lute he built himself out of a tin can), have been dazzling audiences around the world. This group of paraplegic street musicians, who once lived on the grounds of a zoo in Kinshasa, makes music of astonishing power and beauty. In Congolese, Benda Bilili means "look beyond appearances" and "put forward what is hidden." And this band's message is that the only real handicaps are not of the body, but of the mind.

  Come early and enjoy the sounds of the UNC Asheville African Drum Ensemble.  
  7-7:45pm at the front entrance of Lipinksy Hall. Rain location: Lipinsky Hall lobby.

  Meet and Greet

  Stick around after the performance to meet the band and enjoy light refreshments.
  The Meet and Greet is sponsored by the Africana Studies Program.

  Tickets

  $5 UNC Asheville students (limit one per OneCard)
  $7 All area students (limit one; valid student I.D. required)
  $15 UNC Asheville faculty/staff/alumni/NCCCR (limit one per OneCard)
  $20 General public
  
  Click on uncatickets.com or in person at the Highsmith Union front desk.

  Extending The Stage

  Documentary Double Feature

  Thursday, Oct. 25
  Highsmith Union Grotto
  Murderball • 7 p.m.
  Full-contact rugby players prepare to compete in the Paralympic Games.
  Benda Bilili • Approximately 8:30 p.m.
  Follow the musicians from street to stage as they use music as a tool to survive.

  Join us for light refreshments and discussion between the films.
  Free and open to the public.

  Co-sponsored with the Disability Services Office.

   

   

   

  All programs are subject to change.

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• I. King Jordan

  The Deaf Community at a Crossroads

  7:00 PM Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012. Highsmith Union, Alumni Hall

  

  
  I. King Jordan made history in 1988 when he became the first deaf president of Gallaudet University, the world's only university for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. He became president as a result of a social revolution frequently called Deaf President Now (DPN). The week-long movement was a watershed event in the lives of deaf and hard of hearing people all over the world. Since DPN, I. King Jordan's leadership has heightened public awareness of the important educational contributions Gallaudet makes to the nation and the world. He serves as an international spokesperson for deaf and hard of hearing people, as well as an advocate for all persons with disabilities. Dr. Jordan continues to challenge the American public to examine their attitudes toward people with disabilities and to open their minds, hearts and workplaces to them.

  Dr. Jordan earned a B.A. in psychology from Gallaudet and an M.A. and Ph.D., both in psychology from the University of Tennessee. He holds twelve honorary degrees and is the recipient of numerous awards including the U.S. Presidential Citizen's Medal, the Washingtonian of the Year Award, and the James L. Fisher Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. In 1990, President George Bush appointed Dr. Jordan Vice Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and in 1993, President Bill Clinton reappointed him. He served as Commissioner on the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and in 2010, President Obama appointed him Commissioner on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

  Free and open to the public.

  Sponsored by UNC Asheville's Office of the Provost, Cultural Events & Special Academic Programs, Disability Services & Learning Support, and the Center for Diversity Education.

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