Students, faculty and staff link arms during WVU's 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast.
In honor of the late Martin Luther King Jr., the West Virginia University Center for Black Culture and Research hosted its annual Unity Breakfast today (Jan. 15) in the Mountainlair Ballrooms; followed by a day of service organized by the Center for Service and Learning.
This keynote speaker for this year’s breakfast was Charleston artist, advocate and entrepreneur Crystal Good. Good uses poetry and performance to explore the landscape of Appalachia as a lens into the universe.
“My roots are deep in West Virginia,” said Good. “I am a sixth generation West Virginian. And as my Granddaddy said – I was West Virginia before West Virginia was West Virginia and he is correct having ancestors here since before the state officially became a state – and perhaps even before – as it’s possible that this region was once connected to Mother Africa -- before the great tectonic shifts.”
Good was recognized at the breakfast as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award. The award is given to the nominee from West Virginia who best exemplifies the values and ideals taught by King.
Following the breakfast, more than 100 volunteers left the Mountainlair to join service projects throughout the greater Morgantown community. WVU students, staff, faculty and community members chose to volunteer their time to one of the six community partners who requested a volunteer need.
Early in the morning, volunteers joined The Collaborative, WVU’s group of AmeriCorps VISTA members, to help sort donations at Christian Help, and later, others assisted with the Falling Run Trail Project and WVU Core Arboretum by clearing hiking trails. Volunteers also provided cleaning at the Hearts of Gold WVU Service Dog Training Facility, and additional volunteers played games with residents at the Sundale Nursing Home.
“WVU strives to provide our students with opportunities to be a part of our community in many ways,” said Dr. Kristi Wood-Turner, director of the Center for Service and Learning. “The MLK Day of Service allows students to spend a day celebrating the life of Dr. King and sharing positive experiences with others that bring us all closer together.”
-WVU-
CONTACT: Eric Jordan, Center
for Black Culture and Research
304.293.3390, eric.jordan@mail.wvu.edu
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