Celebration to Focus on King, Obama

Rick Pointer, Westmont professor of history, and David Moore, pastor of New Covenant Worship Center in Santa Barbara, will speak at “‘I have a Dream’: A Celebration and Remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr.,” Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. in Westmont’s Page Multipurpose Room. The event, which is free and open to the public, includes a video presentation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech and a discussion about President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Pointer, who was selected as the first recipient of the newly established Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Chair in Social Science, graduated from Houghton College and earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Johns Hopkins University. His scholarship focuses on the religious history of early America.

Moore, an alumnus of UC Santa Barbara, is also a pastor at Christ for Nations church in Oxnard. He frequently travels to Africa in response to the AIDS pandemic and severe poverty and has created a program to provide books for youth, “Hope for Young Africans.”

The event is co-sponsored by Westmont’s Intercultural Programs, History Department and Racial Equality and Justice, a student-led organization.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was more than a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement,” says Elena Yee, Westmont director of intercultural programs. “He is a key reminder of the historical earthquake that reverberated for basic human rights for not only African-Americans but for all people who experience injustice and oppression. We need to remember his words and the principles he used to bring about a radical change in our society. It’s important to remember how far we’ve come yet how far we have to go. Our daily news reminds us still how far we are from his dream for a just and equitable society.”