'The Real MLK' at St. Bonaventure

The community is invited to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a Monday, Jan. 19, program called “The Real MLK” at St. Bonaventure University.

“The Real MLK” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Dresser Auditorium by St. Bonaventure faculty members Dr. Barry Gan, professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Nonviolence, and Dr. Mark Huddle, associate professor of history and board member of the Association for the Study of African American History and Life.

“Each year we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., but we celebrate only a small part of his life, making him a hero without recognizing that people become heroic by overcoming their own shortcomings and weaknesses,” said Gan.

“In this presentation we will explore the real Martin Luther King Jr., the man few Americans ever learn about, who, despite his failings, rose to greatness because he battled with them, and who, despite being sanitized by mainstream America, offered insights, critiques, and analyses that we still ignore at our own peril. And we will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., heroic because he is in the end a human being like all of us,” added Gan.

Dresser Auditorium is located in the John J. Murphy Professional Building. The program is sponsored by the university’s multicultural center, The Damietta Center, and is free and open to the public.