Press release from the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County:
On Thursday, Feb. 28, the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County will present an evening with Darin Waters, Ph.D., who will examine America’s collective memory in remembering and memorializing its past. The presentation will take place at Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Asheville Center, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville. Waters is an associate professor of history and the executive director of community engagement at UNC Asheville.
As the Confederate-monument controversy swirls across the Southeast, Waters will examine the historical origins of memorializing bygone eras with images that disregard the blight of African-American enslavement and persecution. Titled “Whose Story?: Democratizing America’s Collective Memory,” the presentation will examine the post-Civil War Reconstruction era’s lack of recognizing the injustices that were inflicted upon black Americans, and will address the background of the construction and placement of Confederate monuments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It will also touch on the idea that African-Americans have not had a significant voice in contributing to America’s collective historical memory.
Oralene Simmons, President of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Association, stressed the importance of honoring African-American contributions to Asheville and beyond, as well as reflecting on their absence in artistic depictions of the Civil War era. “We want to extend an invitation to everyone to join us as we remember and honor the lives of the black people who had a positive and significant impact on our society,” she said.
Doors will open at 6 p.m., and Waters’ talk will start at 6:30 p.m. A question-and-answer period with the audience will follow the presentation, and refreshments will be provided. The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are required, and registration is available at lr.edu/avlevents.
For more information, contact Michael Dempsey, Chair of the MLK Association’s Community Outreach Providing Empowerment (COPE) program, at michael.dempsey@lr.edu or (828) 407-4269.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.