Community Invited to Observe International Day of Peace

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will observe the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, with four days of events for the campus and Northwest Arkansas community.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 is the official Day of Peace, and a panel has been assembled to discuss “Connecting Communities.” The panel will discuss building peace and resolving conflict, presenting stories, ideas and solutions to peacefully resolve misunderstandings and disputes. Panelists include representatives of the local Black Lives Matter group, immigration reform advocates, tribal communities’ leaders and a variety of religious groups.

The panel discussion is free and all are welcome. It will be held from 4:45-5:45p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21 in Willard Walker Hall, room 218. A reception will follow the discussion.

This event is sponsored by the U of A Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education and the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology.

The four-day observance begins Monday, Sept. 19 with a presentation by Adolphe Nysenholc, author of “War Mother”, a semi-autobiographical play about the Holocaust. Nysenholc will discuss the play at 7 p.m. at the Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas, 699 N. Sang Avenue, Fayetteville. All are invited to this free event.

Tuesday, Sept. 20 the Native American Symposium Committee will present a Reader’s Theatre production of “War Mother” at 7 p.m. in Giffels Auditorium. Nysenholic will discuss his play and his heritage as a Holocaust survivor during a question and answer session after the reading. A reception will follow. The public is invited to this free event, sponsored by The Omni Center, the Multicultural Center, and the U of A Departments of Communications, Drama and Jewish Studies.

The Peace Day observances end with two events on Sept. 22, both presented by the Native American Symposium Committee. From 5-6 p.m. there will be a panel discussion of Kiowa Culture at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center. Kiowa tribal members J.T. Goombi, Jay Benham and Dorothy Delaune Whitehorse will lead the discussion, which will be followed by a reception from 6-7 p.m. This will be followed by the 7 p.m. screening of the recently rediscovered 1920 docudrama “The Daughter of Dawn”, accompanied by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, in the Faulkner Performing Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Daughter of Dawn” was filmed in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1920, featuring an all Kiowa and Comanche cast reenacting their 19th century culture. It was believed to be lost, but a print was discovered in 2005, restored by the Oklahoma Historical Society, and added to the Library of Congress registry in 2013 as one of America's most significant motion pictures.

This event is also sponsored by the U of A Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies, Multicultural Center, Communication Department’s Film Appreciation Society, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Indigenous Studies Program.

The week’s Day of Peace events were organized by Dick Bennett, founder of the Omni Center, Brande Flack, director of retention programs for the Multicultural Center, Freddie Bowles, associate professor of foreign language education, and Frank Scheide, professor, department of communication.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.