This week's calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.)
Tavis Smiley at RIT
RIT will present a talk by author, talk-show host, and civil rights advocate Tavis Smiley on Thursday, January 30. Smiley will give the keynote address at the 2014 Expressions of King's Legacy from noon to 2 p.m. at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Later the same day, Smiley will moderate a community panel discussion for the "State of Race in Rochester: 50 Years after the July '64 Race Riots." The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at East High School, 1801 East Main Street.
Talk on Islam and Christianity
St. Mary Church will host "What can Islam teach us about Christian faith?" a conversation with Muhammad Shafiq and Deacon George Dardess at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 30. Shafiq is the director of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Dialogue at Nazareth College, and Dardess is the author of several books on Muslim-Christian dialogue. The event will be held at the church's Dugan Center, 15 St. Mary's Place.
Book discussion
The Moving Beyond Racism book group will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 3, to discuss "Bloody Done Sign My Name" by Timothy Tyson. The autobiography is a look at the author's reconciliation with his Southern roots. The group meets at Barnes & Noble, Pittsford Plaza. It's not necessary to have read the book to join the group.
Lecture series begins
The Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester will present a lecture by Anat Hoffman to kick off the annual Israel Speaker Series at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 30. Hoffman is the founding member of Women of the Wall, and has brought international attention to the women who want to pray at Jerusalem's Western Wall. The event will be held at Temple B'rith Kodesh, 2131 Elmwood Avenue.
Healing the planet
The Downtown Presbyterian Church presents "Earth Care Communities Can Heal Our Planet," Sunday discussion groups. The first event will be held at 9:50 a.m. on Sunday, February 2, at 121 North Fitzhugh Street.
Panel discussion on African-American struggles
Nazareth College will host "Faith Based Initiatives in the African-American Struggle for Freedom and Justice in the Greater Rochester Area," a panel discussion on African-American life. Scholar David Anderson will moderate a panel that includes the Rev. Marvin McMickle, president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School; Rev. John Walker, pastor of Christian Friendship Baptist Church; and Imam Hanif Abdul-Wahid, activist and founding member of the Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission. The event will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 4, at the Otto Shults Center.
