SUNY Adirondack hosts inaugural Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium with keynote speaker Dr. Alice Green

QUEENSBURY, New York (Jan. 20, 2023) — SUNY Adirondack invites the public to the inaugural Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, “An Evening with Ancestors & Descendants."

• Wed. Jan. 25 at 5 p.m.
• Northwest Bay Conference Center of Adirondack Hall.

Dr. Alice Green, the founder of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany, will deliver the keynote memorial lecture and participate in a panel discussion. Deacon Lee Braggs will join the conversation, representing the local chapter of N.A.A.C.P. and the Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church. SUNY Adirondack community members will participate as well.

The event honors Dr. King, but SUNY Adirondack's Chief Diversity Officer, Cornelius Gilbert Ph.D., wanted to bring his message closer to home. 

“Martin Luther King is an integral part of our history, culture, and identity. His relevancy remains - not only amongst Black people, but America at-large,” Gilbert said. “Despite only being here for a couple of months, I felt it necessary for SUNY Adirondack to have a strong MLK program in 2023.”

The symposium's theme, “An Evening with Ancestors & Descendants,” explores the bridge between generations—one living through Martin Luther King’s time and the other afterward.

Dr. Alice Green was born in South Carolina but was raised in the Adirondacks. She later moved south and received her doctorate in criminal justice and three master’s degrees from the University of Albany. Green is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Law and Justice and is an adjunct professor at the University of Albany. 

Green is also the President of the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color in Essex, where writers are given technical assistance and an environment for writing. 

“I wanted the event to honor Dr. King but also bring his meaning home,” Gilbert said. “By having someone with two distinct elements, a native from the Adirondacks, but also someone who lived through the times when MLK did his work.”

“I also thought it important to have another Elder as part of the program. Lee Braggs is a Deacon at Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church and has deep roots in the community,” he continued.

Donna Hayles, Associate Professor of English; Jacob Carpenter, Student Body President; and Elijah Cullum, SUNY Adirondack Student & Student Trustee, will join Green and Braggs for the panel discussion.