Project News

Every time junior Lauren McGinnis hears what she believes is “the most powerful word in the English language” — the n-word — being used, waves of discomfort and frustration wash over her. She did not think that asking her white peers in an Instagram post to remove the word from their vocabulary was an unreasonable request, but the derogatory replies that she received from her followers hurt deeply.

For many people, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech is his landmark speech.But for ASU english professor Neal Lester, a more telling moment came in the speech King gave at a visit to Stanford University in 1967 in a speech called “The Other America.” “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long and it bends towards justice," King said in the speech. The speech shows a complex, little-known side to the famed civil rights activist, Lester said. “I facilitated a program back in the summer that was on the anniversary of King’s death,” Lester said. “That was an opportunity for me to try to move people, and myself, away from these sugar-coated images that idolize King.”

Do. The. Work. It was that idea conveyed by Dr. Neal Lester during a celebration honoring the sacrifice and service by those who made the dream of racial equality a perception of reality in the United States of America.

Countless deplorable acts against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his family, his followers and his perspective did not stop the man whose legacy is honored and observed by all American communities on the third Monday of January.

The Town of Paradise Valley hosted its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Monday, Jan. 21 at Town Hall, 6401 E. Lincoln Drive, which featured a speaker, music and the announcement of the essay contest winners.

Do. The. Work.

It was that idea conveyed by Dr. Neal Lester during a celebration honoring the sacrifice and service by those who made the dream of racial equality a perception of reality in the United States of America.

Countless deplorable acts against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his family, his followers and his perspective did not stop the man whose legacy is honored and observed by all American communities on the third Monday of January.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only National Day of Service named after an American civil rights pioneer and the namesake of an award bestowed upon Dr. Lester, an Arizona State University professor.

HACKS FOR HUMANITY The annual event, sponsored by ASU’s Project Humanities, provides “a burst of creative disruption,” says Neal A. Lester, Project Humanities director. In 2018, the 36-hour entrepreneurial marathon brought together developers, artists, humanists, futurists, designers and visionaries to create technical solutions to global issues.

It’s been 51 years since Martin Luther King Jr., the American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights, was assassinated. But since that fateful April 4, 1968 day in Memphis, America has continued to learn from King Jr.’s legacy. Dr. Neal Lester, an Arizona State University English professor, said he believes the holiday should allow people to reflect not only on how far society has come but also to learn from the past.

Talking, listening and connecting: They’re the three pillars of Arizona State University’s Project Humanities, and there were plenty of each to be found Monday night at the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center in downtown Phoenix, where roughly 100 community members gathered to celebrate the life of the late black feminist poet, novelist and playwright Ntozake Shange, who passed away in October 2018.

It’s often overlooked, but American music is filled with indigenous inspirations, influences, and artistry.

Arizona State University Professor Neal Lester will be honored in two separate celebrations of Martin Luther King Jr., but he’s more than a little wistful about all the memorials that will be taking place in advance of and on the slain civil rights leader’s birthday Monday.