Join the GW community for the 2013 MLK Day Celebration which serves as the kick-off event of the year-long series Pro[Claiming] Freedom hosted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion. This series commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. For more information and upcoming events, please visit go.gwu.edu/ProClaimingFreedom.

As part of the celebration of the life and legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the George Washington University will host an evening forum entitled, “Complicated Legacies: Lincoln, King and Obama” on Monday, January 28th at 6:00PM in the Elliott School of International Affairs (1957 E st NW) room 113. There will be a light reception from 6-6:30pm, and the program will begin at 6:30pm.

Join us as our distinguished panelists discuss the accuracy of deeply held views about Lincoln, MLK, the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington, and the relevancy of these competing views today in the age of Obama. As time allows, their discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer session. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

                      "A hush fell over the room as the group viewed the latest addition to the Oval Office wall,

                       hanging right over a bust of King — a rare, original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation,

                       signed by President Abraham Lincoln, that freed the slaves 145 years before the country

                       would send a black man to the White House."

                                                                                                   --Obama Struggles to Balance African Americans’ Hopes

                                                                                                       with Country’s as a Whole, Washington Post,

                                                                                                       October 29, 2012

Dr. Eric Foner is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. His specialties include the Civil War, Reconstruction, slavery, and nineteenth century American history. Professor Foner received the bicentennial Order of Lincoln award in 2009. He has served as president of the three major history professional organizations, and his most recent book, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery won the Pulitzer, Bancroft, and Lincoln prizes in 2011.

Dr. Eddie Glaude is the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African American Studies, Department of Religion, and Chair, Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. His research interests include American pragmatism, specifically the work of John Dewey, and African American religious history and its place in American public life. He is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the 2002 Modern Language Association William Sanders Scarborough Prize for his book Exodus!

Dr. Edna Greene Medford is a professor and Chair of the History department at Howard University. She specializes in nineteenth century African-American history and has written numerous articles and book chapters on African Americans during the Civil War era. Professor Medford sits on many boards including those of the Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation and the Abraham Lincoln Institute; in 2009, she was also a recipient of the bicentennial Order of Lincoln award for her scholarship involving President Lincoln.

The location is a short walk from two metro stations. Attendees traveling from Virginia should get off at the Foggy Bottom/GWU stop, and those traveling from DC/Maryland should get off at the Farrugut West stop.

Underground visitor parking is available for a fee of $12 -- for more information, visit http://parking.gwu.edu/. The garage is accessible from 19th street, which is a one-way street heading south.