Willamette University's Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. event moves online

Willamette University's public lecture event "We Need Rest" with Dr. Nicholas Grier has been moved online due to COVID-19 concerns.

Willamette University has been offering a number of events this week to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year's theme is: (Un) Rest as Resistance.

Grier will still speak at 7 p.m. Friday about the importance of rest and the systems of oppression that prevent people from resting. Those systems especially affect the marginalized and oppressed.

"Oftentimes we correlate the protests, etc. against racial injustice, hate and rhetoric as unrest and as resistance against the systemic oppression caused by the privileged communities and systems," Gordy Toyama, director of Willamette's Office of Multicultural Affairs and leader of the MLK Celebration Committee, said in an email about the celebration. "We also need to recognize that rest for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ is also a form of resistance and that other identities can help carry the load."

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Grier, author of "Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men: Hope to Keep Going," is also an associate professor at the Claremont School of Theology and a counselor at the Bishop Wellness Center.

According to the program description, the lecture will also focus on the importance of "nurturing systems and cultures that help people rest."

The lecture will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21 on Zoom at: willametteuniversity.zoom.us/s/97645473135.

The event will be recorded and available online for those unable to watch live. It will also be broadcast on KMUZ.

Dianne Lugo is a reporter at the Statesman Journal covering equity and social justice. You can reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com, 503-936-4811 or on Twitter @DianneLugo.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Willamette University's MLK celebration will move forward online