PORT ANGELES — As people make plans for the three-day holiday this weekend, Peninsula College is scheduling events to mark what Martin Luther King Jr. Day is all about.
Comedian, speaker and activist Preacher Moss will perform his “End of Racism” comedy and lecture series for the college’s Studium Generale program at noon today.
The show was created before the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, but deals with racism in America while living in a post-Sept. 11 culture, Moss said.
Moss is a Muslim comic who has lent his writing talents to Damon Wayans, Darrell Hammond and George Lopez.
Moss said he doesn’t make light of racism in his show, but that sometimes it’s easier to say what he does by delivering it in a comedic way.
“The one thing about the end of racism … it does require a lot of critical thinking,” Moss said.
“I don’t really pull any punches, I say what I mean.”
His work is known for focusing on issues of diversity and equality, and bringing people together for a greater purpose.
“In a nutshell, I understand that in trying to address ills of society we cannot be passive, or arrogant in our efforts,” Moss says on his Web site www.preachermoss.com.
“Clearly, if we are, we only serve to make our challenges harder, then isolated, then non-existent.”
The Studium Generale program will be held in the Little Theatre of Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
The event is free, open to the public and co-sponsored by the college’s Sound of Unity program.
The college also will host a 7:30 a.m. Friday candlelight march in honor of King, who was killed in 1968 in Memphis, Tenn. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the holiday.
People wanting to participate are asked to meet at 7:15 a.m. at the flag pole outside of the college’s central quad.
Following the march and throughout the day, a video presentation of King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” will play in the Pirate Union Building on campus.
The candlelight march is also open to the public.
Also on Friday, Port Angeles High School’s Multicultural Club will honor the memory and work of King from 8:48 a.m. to 9:42 a.m. in the high school auditorium.
Students members, members from the Vocal Unlimited choir and the Taiko Drummers will perform.
And on Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., Sequim, King’s famous “I have a dream” speech will be delivered.
The presentation, at the church’s 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. services, will feature Redmond actor Mark Adolph.
Reporter Vanessa Renee Casavant can be reached at 360-417-3535 or vanessa.casavant@peninsuladailynews.com.
