'Root to Fruit'

'Root to Fruit'

Valerie Lee, Ph.D., to Speak Jan. 20 at Delaware County's 2025 MLK Celebration at Ohio Wesleyan

Valerie Lee, Ph.D.

DELAWARE, Ohio - To honor the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Delaware County MLK Day Committee and Ohio Wesleyan University will host the 32nd annual community celebration Jan. 20, 2025, at the university.

The theme of the 2025 event is "Growing Towards Justice: From Root to Fruit," drawn from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1967 speech "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community." In his remarks, King proclaimed, "The plant of freedom has grown only a bud, and not yet a flower." The statement reminds us that although progress has been made, the fight for civil rights has not yet reached full bloom.

The event will feature keynote speaker Valerie Lee, Ph.D., a retired English professor at The Ohio State University and the author of "Sisterlocking Discoarse: Race, Gender, and the Twenty-First-Century Academy," a finalist for the 2021 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Education Category.

Lee also is the author of "Granny Midwives and Black Women Writers: Double-Dutched Readings" and the editor of "The Prentice Hall Anthology of African American Women's Literature."

Of "Sisterlocking Discoarse," book publisher SUNY Press states, "Drawing inspiration from the African American storytelling traditions she has spent decades studying and teaching, Lee approaches issues of race, gender, social justice, academic labor, and leadership with a voice that is clear, intimate, and humorous."

During her time at Ohio State, Lee also served a five-year term as the university's Chief Diversity Officer and Vice Provost of Diversity and Inclusion, and a three-year term as Vice President of Outreach and Engagement.

Also during the Jan. 20 MLK celebration, guests will enjoy a performance by the Columbus Adventist Academy Children's Choir directed by Tamaria Kulemeka.

Individual tickets are $35 for Delaware County's 2025 MLK celebration, with event sponsorship available for $260 for a table of eight. Doors will open at 9:45 a.m., with breakfast service beginning at 10 a.m. and the program beginning at 10:30 a.m. and concluding at 11:45 a.m. in the Benes Rooms of Ohio Wesleyan's Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.

Proceeds will continue to benefit the Delaware County Martin Luther King Scholarship Program, which has awarded more than $39,000 in scholarships to Delaware County students since 1990. This year's recipients, Emefa Sallar (Hayes High School) and Kaylyn Huber (Big Walnut High School), will be recognized at the event.

To learn more or purchase tickets, visit owu.edu/MLK. Online purchases will continue through Jan. 10.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.

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