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Please note: Dr. Monroe’s talk has been postponed due to the winter storm predicted for this weekend.

Jan. 13, 2016 – The public is invited to join the Allegheny College community for two free events that will bookend a weeklong celebration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Katrina Dyonne Thompson will speak on “Seeing Beyond Yourself: The Life, Leadership and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” at 4:15 p.m. on Monday, January 18 in the college’s Ford Chapel.

An associate professor of history and African American studies at Saint Louis University, Thompson specializes in 19th- and 20th-century issues of race, gender, stereotypes and American entertainment culture. She is the author of “Ring Shout, Wheel About: The Racial Politics of Music and Dance in North American Slavery.”

Thompson has been a contributor to discussions on race, popular culture and American slavery on NPR and on the New York based radio program The Communicators.

The Rev. Dr. Irene Monroe, an activist for human rights and against homophobia, will speak at the Sunday chapel service at 11 a.m. on Sunday, January 24 in Ford Chapel. The public is invited to both the service and to a reception afterward in the chapel oratory.

Monroe’s presentation will be a reflection on the dreams that Allegheny College has for its community and efforts to make them a reality. The 2015-2016 academic year at Allegheny College takes as its theme “the Year of Meadville” and reflects a partnership between Allegheny College and the Meadville community to build a just and sustainable future for the town.

Monroe’s show “All Revved Up!” airs on Mondays on Boston Public Radio, and her show “What’s Up?” appears on Fridays on New England Channel NEWS. In addition to blogging for the Huffington Post, her syndicated columns on religion appear in 23 cities across the country and in the U.K. and Canada. She also writes a weekly column in the Boston LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows.

She is the recipient of the 2015 Top 25 LGBT Power Players of New England Award by Boston Spirit Magazine. She appears in the film “For the Bible Tells Me So” and was profiled in the Emmy-nominated Gay Pride episode of “In the Life.”

In addition to the talks by Thompson and Monroe, Allegheny students will celebrate Dr. King’s legacy with a panel discussion, workshop and service projects in the Meadville community.