Apr 2

Apr 2 Honoring King And Remembering Protest

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BSU to Remember 50th Anniversary of King Assassination And Also Reflect on Students’ Maryland State House Protest on its 50th Anniversary

As the nation prepares to observe the 50th anniversary of the King assassination, Bowie State University, anchored with its own unique history surrounding that fateful day in 1968, will host a special event.

The university also remembers a historic Bowie State student protest at the Maryland State House 50 years later. View a web exhibit of the student protest.

Bowie State University explores the impact of service and legacy of his nonviolent resistance actions in a free daylong symposium on Wednesday, April 4.

CNN political contributor and former South Carolina state representative Bakari Sellers will deliver the keynote address Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Fine and Performing Arts Center, focusing on how activists can walk by faith while creating social change. Sellers made history in 2006 when, at just 22 years old, he defeated a 26-year incumbent state representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation. He is widely considered to be a rising star within the Democratic Party and leading voice for his generation.

A host of scholars will continue the conversation in a panel discussion immediately afterward. The event is sponsored by the Department of History and Government, the Student Government Association and the College of Arts and Sciences.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of a historic Bowie State student protest in Annapolis. On April 4, 1968, 273 students from the then-Bowie State College staged a sit-in protest at the Maryland State House to fight for additional state funding for better campus housing and academic buildings, which had fallen into disrepair. More than 200 students were arrested.

This notable part of Bowie State’s history will be remembered in a two-day conference, April 6-7, exploring Africans and African-Americans in academia and activism. Former Bowie State students who participated in the protest will reflect on the movement 50 years later on Saturday, April 7 at 9 a.m. in the Martin Luther King Jr. Communication Arts Center, Room 102.