ASG, Black Student Association Co-Host Annual Vigil to Remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

UA Productions Staff

The Associated Student Government and the Black Student Association at the University of Arkansas invite the campus and community to celebrate and remember the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at their annual vigil at noon Monday, Jan. 15, in the Arkansas Union Verizon Ballroom, on the fifth floor of the Arkansas Union.

The vigil will occur at the end of the annual march and is part of a full day’s events hosted by the Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council. The vigil is free and open to the public. There will be a coffee bar for those in attendance.

This year’s vigil will include remarks from multiple speakers as well as a performance by the Inspirational Chorale. The speakers at the 2018 vigil include Charles Robinson, vice chancellor for student affairs, and a keynote address from Yvette Murphy-Erby, vice provost for diversity and inclusion. Members of the student body will also speak at the vigil.

As vice provost, Murphy-Erby provides the university with leadership in developing, implementing and reporting on the success of a campus diversity plan. This plan directly ties into Chancellor Joe Steinmetz’s guiding priority to enrich campus diversity and inclusion. Murphy-Erby has previously served the University of Arkansas as the director of the School of Social Work and as an associate dean in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

As vice chancellor of student affairs, Robinson is the chief steward of the division’s core values of inclusion, service, inquiry, partnership and excellence. Robinson has been honored with student and community awards such as the Lonnie R. Williams Bridging Excellence Award by the Black Students Association, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award by the Northwest Arkansas MLK Community Association, the Torchbearer Award by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and the Honorary Alumni Award by the Black Alumni Society of the UA Alumni Association.

The Inspirational Chorale, a vocal ensemble of University of Arkansas students under the direction of Jeffrey Murdock, works to keep the black sacred music tradition alive. The ensemble provides a forum where university students, regardless of ethnicity, can perform the various genres of the tradition. A clip of an Inspirational Chorale performance can be viewed at their website.

The Black Students Association serves to promote the educational, moral, and cultural awareness among black students at the University of Arkansas. Their goal is to provide a forum from which scholarly decisions are made that promote educational success of minorities in higher education.

The Associated Student Government at the University of Arkansas is a student-led organization that acts as an organized voice for all students and strives to effectively represent student interest.

Questions about ASG can be directed to 479-575-5205, asg@uark.edu or asg.uark.edu.