Lectures, Readings, Discussions, & Forums - Week of January 18, 2021

34th Annual Keynote Memorial Lecture: U-M MLK Symposium.

34th Annual Keynote Memorial Lecture: U-M MLK Symposium.

Live talks on this year's theme "Where Do We Go From Here," by poet Gloria House (best known by her African pen name Aneb Kgositsile) and activist Malik Kenyatta Yakini. House is a U-M Dearborn humanities & African American studies professor whose 3 collections of poetry reflect her lifelong involvement in civil rights struggles, African American community development, and international solidarity causes. Yakini is the founder of Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and winner of the James Beard Foundation's 2013 Leadership Award. For the full schedule of the symposium, see oami.umich.edu/um-mlk-symposium.
Online at oami.umich.edu/um-mlk-symposium/stream/. Free. mlkSymposiumInfo@umich.edu.

"20th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration": Chelsea One World One Family.

"20th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration": Chelsea One World One Family.

Jan. 15-25. Ten days of various community service activities geared towards individuals, families, and teams. To record your activity, participate in a bingo challenge (download your card at owof.org/mlkjrday2021.html). Also, on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., a "Community Discussion" on U-M's MLK Symposium. On Wednesday January 20 at 7 p.m., One World One Family members discuss "What is Restorative Justice."
All weekend, various locations; for complete schedule and updates see Facebook.com (search "Chelsea One World One Family"), owof.org/mlkjrday2021.html, or email OWOFChelsea@gmail.com. Free. 748-3564.

Yamiche Alcindor: EMU 35th Annual MLK Day Celebration Keynote Lecture.

Yamiche Alcindor: EMU 35th Annual MLK Day Celebration Keynote Lecture.

Live talk by this PBS NewsHour White House correspondent on the historical significance of the racially charged events of the past year.
Online at emich.edu/mlk. Free.

"Uneven Success: racial bias in automatic speech recognition" U-M Linguistics Department.

"Uneven Success: racial bias in automatic speech recognition" U-M Linguistics Department.

Talk by University of Washington Sociolinguistics Laboratory director Alicia Beckford Wassink.
2-3:30 p.m., for URL see events.umich.edu/event/80032. Free.

"Celebrating and Engaging with Nature this Winter": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Olli@Home.

"Celebrating and Engaging with Nature this Winter": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Olli@Home.

Jan. 4 & 18. Two talks on how to connect with nature. Jan. 4: GIVE 365 recreation supervisor Erika Pratt and Bivouac co-owner AJ Davidson on the opportunities, benefits of, and apparel for outdoor recreation. Jan. 18: Downtown Home and Garden owner Kelly Vore on entry-level birding.
For online URL preregister at OLLI-umich.org. $10 per talk and $90 for 10 Ollli@Home series. $25 annual membership fee. 998-9351.

"Circle of Unity": U-M Michigan Community Scholars Program.

"Circle of Unity": U-M Michigan Community Scholars Program.

Performances of song, dance, and spoken word pieces inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. With local singer-songwriter Joe Reilly and U-M student speakers and performers TBA.
For online URL see lsa.umich.edu/mcsp/news-events. Free. mcsProgram@umich.edu.

"The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution": U-M Afroamerican and African Studies Department/U-M Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies.

"The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution": U-M Afroamerican and African Studies Department/U-M Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies.

All invited to discuss Julius Scott's new gripping history on the intercontinental networks that tied together the free and enslaved masses of the New World. Based on his seminal 1986 doctoral dissertation.
Online at lsa.umich.edu/daas. Free. daas-info@umich.edu.

Barbara Melnik Carson: Ann Arbor Women Artists.

Barbara Melnik Carson: Ann Arbor Women Artists.

Talk by this self-taught Detroit figurative sculptor.
For online URL see AnnArborWomenArtists.org. Free. AnnArborWomenArtists@gmail.com.

"Back to the Roots": Michigan Botanical Club.

"Back to the Roots": Michigan Botanical Club.

U-M ecology and evolutionary biology postdoctoral fellow Monique Weemstra discusses the symbiotic relationship between plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi.
For online URL email khaw@comcast.net. Free. 718-6114.

"Who Helped Make You...You?": Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County.

"Who Helped Make You...You?": Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County.

All invited to discuss the people who shaped your vision for living. Facilitated by IRTWC codirector Renee Roederer.
For online URL email roederer@umich.edu. Free.

"Covid-19 Health Update": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute/Turner Senior Wellness Program Urgent and Critical Lecture Series.

"Covid-19 Health Update": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute/Turner Senior Wellness Program Urgent and Critical Lecture Series.

Talk by U-M epidemiologist Emily Toth Martin and U-M infectious disease physician Lona Mody.
For online at OLLI-umich.org. Free. 998-9351.

"A Meal Without Wine is Called Breakfast: A Conversation": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Afternoons with OLLI.

"A Meal Without Wine is Called Breakfast: A Conversation": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Afternoons with OLLI.

Village Corner owner Dick Scheer, known as one of the most knowledgeable wine experts in the state, discusses his interests and knowledge with OLLI volunteer Bev Geltner.
For online URL preregister at OLLI-umich.org. $30 (members, $5); $25 annual membership fee. 998-9351.

Kevin Barry: Literati Bookstore At Home With Literati.

Kevin Barry: Literati Bookstore At Home With Literati.

This widely acclaimed Irish fiction writer is joined by novelist Jonathan Dee to discuss his new collection of short stories, That Old Country Music.
Online at LiteratiBookstore.com/event/2021-01. Free, donations accepted. 585-5567.

Windows on Diversity": Huron Valley Sierra Club.

Windows on Diversity": Huron Valley Sierra Club.

Slide-illustrated talk by Oregon-based entomologist and master photographer David Cappaert on 20 ant species you might find in an urban landscape, the architecture of bee morphology, and more.
Online at bit.ly/windowsondiversity. Free. hvg@Michigan.SierraClub.org.

"Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

"Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

University of Maryland history professor Richard Bell discusses his new book, a finalist for both the George Washington Prize and the Harriet Tubman Prize.
For online URL preregister at OLLI-umich.org. $35 (members, $10); $25 annual membership fee. 998-9351.

"Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference": Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County.

"Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference": Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County.

Jan. 13, 20, & 27. All invited to discuss Washington University (St. Louis) law and religion professor John D. Inazu's 2016 book.
For online URL email roederer@umich.edu. Free.

"Jazz at the Lincoln Center's Swing University: Jazz as a Tool for Liberation": University Musical Society Digital Presentation.

"Jazz at the Lincoln Center's Swing University: Jazz as a Tool for Liberation": University Musical Society Digital Presentation.

Every Wed. JALC education resources and public programs director Seton Hawkins leads a 4-week lecture-discussion series that explores jazz through a social justice lens. Guest artists TBA. It is a sequential series, but each talk can be viewed as a standalone event.

Jan. 6: "New Orleans and the Birth of Jazz."

Jan. 13: "Chicago and the Spread of Jazz."

Jan. 20: "New York and the Big Bands."

Jan. 27: "Detroit Before Motown."
online at ums.org/?s=jazz+as+a+tool. $10 per week (students, $5), for the 4-week lecture series, $30. 764-2538.

"Telling the Tale: Growing A Community's Future in Sierra Leone": American Association of University Women.

"Telling the Tale: Growing A Community's Future in Sierra Leone": American Association of University Women.

Sherbro Foundation Sierra Leone director Arlene Golembiewski discusses the benefits of community-led programs.
For online URL see AnnArbor-MI.aauw.net. Free. Facebook.com/AAUWAnnArbor.

"The History of Darien, Panama": Washtenaw Audubon Society.

"The History of Darien, Panama": Washtenaw Audubon Society.

Livestream slide-illustrated talk by renowned local ornithologist (and former WAS president) Michael Kielb.
For online URL see bit.ly/historyofdarien. Free.

"Japonisme and the Birth of Cinema": U-M Japanese Studies Department.

"Japonisme and the Birth of Cinema": U-M Japanese Studies Department.

UC-San Diego Japanese language and literature professor Daisuke Miyao discusses his new book on the Japanese influence on the aesthetics of European films produced at the turn of the 20th century.
Online at bit.ly/birthofcinema. Free. umcjs@umich.edu.

Ikebana International.

Ikebana International.

Prerecorded videos of demos of this Japanese style of flower arranging led by instructors TBA.
For URL email a2ikebana@gmail.com. Free.

"Biblio Files": Ann Arbor District Library.

"Biblio Files": Ann Arbor District Library.

Three AADL staffers each answer a book question in about 5 minutes, such as "What book do you never seem to get to?" and "What is the prettiest book on your bookshelf?"
Online at AADL.tv. Free. 327-4200.

"Myanmar: Land of Golden Temples and Floating Villages": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Out Of Town.

"Myanmar: Land of Golden Temples and Floating Villages": U-M Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Out Of Town.

Local photographer Ann O'Hagen shares her photos of cityscapes, rural landscapes, temples, and watery villages.
For online URL preregister at OLLI-umich.org. $35 (members, $10; $25 annual membership fee. 998-9351.

"First Chapter Fridays": Ann Arbor District Library.

"First Chapter Fridays": Ann Arbor District Library.

An AADL staffer reads the 1st chapter of a new or favorite Middle Grade or Young Adult book TBA.
AADL.tv. Free. 327-4200.

"Systemic Racism: Covid-19 and the African American Experience in Michigan": U-M Turner African American Services MLK Celebration.

"Systemic Racism: Covid-19 and the African American Experience in Michigan": U-M Turner African American Services MLK Celebration.

Panel discussion with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reps Alexis Travis and Michelle Canady.
For online URL call 998-9353 or email twsp.info@umich.edu. Free.

"Sunday Talks: Jataka Tales": Jewel Heart Buddhist Center.

"Sunday Talks: Jataka Tales": Jewel Heart Buddhist Center.

Every Sun. Jewel Heart resident spiritual advisor Demo Rinpoche discusses tales from this ancient collection of parables about the Buddha's previous lives.
For livestream URL preregister at bit.ly/jeweldharmatalk. Free. 994-3387.

"Researching Revolutionary America": Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County Monthly Meeting.

"Researching Revolutionary America": Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County Monthly Meeting.

Live talk by EMU history professor John G. McCurdy. Followed at 3:15 p.m. by "Black Loyalists in the Revolutionary War" a talk by club member and Washtenaw County African American Genealogical Society cofounder Cheryl Garnett.
For online URL email Info@WashtenawGenealogy.org. Free. WashtenawGenealogy.org.