Court
Chief Justice Henry Frye, Davidson College¹s Martin Luther King Day
celebration will now also feature a "fireside chat" with Charlotte's new
mayor, 1993 Davidson graduate Anthony Foxx.
Foxx will host the discussion with students and community members from
3 to
4:45 p.m. on Monday, January 18, in the Alvarez College Union Smith 900
Room. There is no admission charge.
Raised in Charlotte by his mother and grandparents, Foxx graduated
from West
Charlotte High School and enrolled in Davidson. He became the college's
first African American student body president, and earned a bachelor's
degree in history. He earned his law degree from New York University
School
of Law, and then held positions in all three branches of federal
government.
He was a judicial clerk for the U.S. Circuit Court for the Sixth
Circuit, a
trial attorney for the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of
the
U.S. Department of Justice and counsel for the House Judiciary
Committee.
Foxx returned to Charlotte and served on a number of community boards,
including the Mecklenburg County Education Budget Advisory Committee,
the
North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Foundation Board
and
the North Carolina Dance Theatre Board. He was elected as an at-large
member
of Charlotte City Council in 2005, and was elected Mayor in November
2009.
The previously announced schedule of King Day educational seminars
concerning race and justice has been adjusted to accommodate Mayor
Foxx¹s
appearance. The seminars will now run concurrently in the Alvarez
College
Union from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. They are:
• In Room 312 Assistant Professor of Education Hilton Kelly will lead
a film
and discussion titled "Like Being Untied and Tickled at the Same Time:
Remembering Legally Segregated Schools for Blacks." The presentation
will
consider the legacy of legally segregated schools for blacks and
suggests
new ways of thinking about today's resegregated schools.
• In Room 302, 1995 Davidson graduate and journalist Issac J. Bailey
will
lead a session titled "Why I Don't Eat Watermelon in Front of White
People
Even in a Post-Racial World." The title is drawn from a book published
by
Bailey in 2009 concerning contemporary race relations. Bailey writes
feature
stories and a regular column for the Myrtle Beach Sun-News, and has
won many
awards for outstanding journalism from the South Carolina Press
Association.
• In the Smith 900 Room three current Davidson students - Jesse Johnson,
Darrell Scott and Justin Hua, along with Diversity Program Advisor
Cristina
Garcia, will lead a session titled "Check All that Apply: Examining the
Complexities of Racial Identity as Forced by Societal Labeling." The
discussion will focus on the terms society has chosen for labeling
individuals based on ethnicity and race. College applications,
employment
applications, the Census and medical forms have long included
identification
by race, but some are changing. Participants will be asked talk about
how
changes are influencing societal interpretations of ethnicity and race.
The day's activities also include a walk for justice, "King Day for
Kids,"
and a Gospel Extravaganza. For further information, call 704-894-2225.
