The week kicks off Monday, Jan. 15, with the MLK Day of Service.ĚýLegislation was signed in 1983 creating a federal holiday marking the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the MLK Jr. federal holiday as a national day of service. It is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. The UofL community will participate in the “day on, not a day off” event Monday at various sites throughout the city. Students will meet at 8:30 a.m. in Strickler Hall. This event is sponsored by the Engage, Lead, Serve Board.

The African American Theatre Program’s annual MLK Celebration is at 1 p.m. Jan. 15, with a staged reading of “Free Lunch,”a piece written by Troy Johnson. More information is .Ěý

The Louisville Bus Civil Rights Tour is Jan. 16, with a 12:10 p.m. departure from the Cultural Center.ĚýThe City of Louisville was an active site during the Civil Rights Movement.ĚýThis tour explores how the 20th-century civil rights movement changed lives at the South’s northern border for African Americans and also for whites and, now, for the new immigrants who are bringing greater cultural diversity in the 21st century. Registration for the free tour can be done online.Ěý

On Wednesday, Jan. 17, a film screening of “American Experience: Freedom Riders,” will be shown at 5:30 p.m. in Chao Auditorium of Ekstrom Library.ĚýIn 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. That is, until an integrated band of college students – many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university – decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders and this movie tells their story.Ěý

For the full list of MLK Week events, .Ěý

Story began the talk by naming numerous black, female civil rights activists that aren’t necessarily well known, such as Daisy Bates and Diane Nash. Bates, for example, played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis, while Nash is a leader of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement.ĚýStory highlighted the contributions these women made to the movement and to the development of organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Story then asked why there isn’t as much awareness of their contributions from a historical perspective as compared to their civil rights movement counterparts. This question launched a Q&A in which topics such as the presidential election, gender, misogyny, and economics were discussed.

The event had a large turnout and brought out several UofL students, faculty, and staff.

Story is an associate professor of women’s and gender studies and she holds the Audre Lorde Chair in Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Story and Black Lives Matter activist, Jaison Gardner, host a weekly radio show of musings on politics, pop culture and black gay life called Strange Fruit. The radio show airs on Saturday nights on 89.3 WFPL.