Monday January 16, 2023, is the federal holiday recognizing and celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On this day Warren Wilson College will kick off our Beloved Community Lecture Series, a monthly set of lectures designed to highlight and honor essential members of our community that have worked diligently and passionately towards shaping an environment that we hope will one day be viewed, imagined, and realized as beloved – a community where every person residing at or visiting our campus and the communities and neighborhood surrounding it will be viewed and treated as sacred.

The Office of Institutional DEI at Warren Wilson College is proud to announce that our first Keynote Speaker for the Beloved Community Lecture Series will be Asheville native, DeWayne Barton, the Founder/CEO of Hood Huggers International. Using Hood Huggers International as a vehicle for his community engaged social enterprise work, Barton has pursued the vision of “Rebuilding Affrilachia” projects in and around Asheville, NC. Affrilachia refers to African Americans living in Appalachia. Hood Huggers International asserts that Affrilachia is “an ever-evolving cultural landscape poised to render the invisible visible, and contains a population that needs and deserves economic investment to ensure its visibility and thriving future”.

Beloved Community Lecture Series

Monday January 16, 2023

Doors Open at 5:30pm

Program begins at 6:00pm

Location: Warren Wilson College

Building: Canon Lounge at Gladfelter Hall

For further information please contact Dr. M. Z. Yehudah, Director of DEI Initiatives. myehudah@warren-wilson.edu