Teach the Speech Teach-In: The Drum Major Instinct
Each year, Georgetown faculty, staff, and students across campuses and schools read and reflect on one of Dr. King’s speeches/texts during the spring semester as part of the Teach the Speech Project of the Office of the President Let Freedom Ring! Initiative. RSVP at: https://forms.gle/9kCAag72jW9hsudx5
For the Spring 2023 semester, we are focusing on Dr. King’s The Drum Major Instinct (video/text).”King’s “Drum Major Instinct” sermon, given on 4 February 1968, was an adaptation of the 1952 homily ‘‘Drum-Major Instincts’’ by J. Wallace Hamilton, a well-known, liberal, white Methodist preacher. King encouraged his congregation to seek greatness, but to do so through service and love. King concluded the sermon by imagining his own funeral, downplaying his famous achievements and emphasizing his heart to do right.
Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend this event on Friday, January 20, 2023 from 10:30am-4:00pm in Fisher Colloqium and Lohrfink Auditorium in the Rafik B. Hariri building on the Hilltop campus. This year’s event will feature a Lecture given by Dr. Vicki Crawford and a sermon offered by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III. Parts of the event will be offered in hybrid modality. Please review the schedule below and register according to how you plan on participating in the event.
- 10:30am-12:00pm: Antiracism Examen (Guided Community Reflection & Dialogue Space on Antiracism) in the Fisher Colloquium
- 12:00-12:30pm: Lunch in the Fisher Colloquium
- 12:30-1:30pm: Dr. Vicki Crawford Lecture with Q&A in Lohrfink Auditorium
- 1:30-2:00pm: Break (coffee, tea, and dessert) outside Lohrfink Auditorium
- 2:00-3:00pm: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III Sermon & Closing in Lorhfink Auditorium
- 3:00-3:45pm: Book signing “Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times” with Rev. Otis Moss III outside Lohrfink Auditorium
Dr. Vicki Crawford is Director of the Office of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection and Professor of Africana Studies. In this position, she develops campus-based programming and community outreach initiatives that advance the teachings and nonviolent philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition, she serves on the curatorial committee at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights which has oversight for rotating thematic exhibits of the King papers.
With civil rights advocacy in his DNA, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III built his ministry on community advancement and social justice activism. As Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill., Dr. Moss spent the last two decades practicing and preaching a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problems of mass incarceration, environmental justice and economic inequality. Dr. Moss is part of a new generation of ministers committed to preaching a prophetic message of love and justice, which he believes are inseparable companions that form the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The deadline to RSVP for the event is January 16, 2023. This deadline will allow us to coordinate spaces and food.
Please email any questions, comments, or concerns that you have for Teach the Speech planning committee to Lionell Daggs III, Associate Director, Racial Justice Initiatives at the Center for Social Justice, at racialjustice@georgetown.edu.
Requests for accommodations can be made at csj.georgetown.edu/ar. The event will include ASL interpretation.
This event is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, Center for Social Justice, Office of Mission and Ministry, Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, the Doyle Engaging Difference Program, and the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access.