"To explore and advance the Beloved Community as a vision for the 21st century - locally, nationally and globally."
Beloved Community Awareness Week is intended to encourage current and prospective Bruins and their families to reflect on UCLA’s special affinity to explore and advance this noble ideal as a vision for the 21 st century – locally, nationally and globally.
​
This year, under the theme of “Reaching For The Sky” , we consider the social impact of UCLA from South
Central Los Angeles, and Southern Afrika to the Oakland and Chicago neighborhoods highlighted in the mythical story of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. Along our journey we aim to lift up how the philosophical underpinnings that the Beloved Community shares with indigenous cultures from the Americas to Asia, Afrika and beyond.
UCLA BELOVED COMMUNITY EVENTS
FRI. April 21
10am | a workshop on “Healing Community Through True Storytelling and Collage Portraiture”, 10am-2pm, at UCLA James West Alumni Center , on Friday, April 21, led by Associate Professor of Social Welfare at the University of Southern Maine, Dr. Paula Gerstenblatt , filmmaker Doug Harris, and UCLA alum, Oscar Edwards ’78, MBA ’80. Register to join us and reserve your spot.
Story-telling &
Portraiture
Teaching MLK;
Reel Talk Film
Screening
​
*7pm | A Reel Talk film screening of "Selma" at the Northwest Auditorium, UCLA. A kick off to the 6th annual Teaching MLK Weekend (April 21-23) designed for student empowerment and community building. FREE with RSVP. Bus transportation available for high school students.
9am | the 6th Annual Teaching MLK Day-Long conference which features workshops, panels, and interactive community building activities geared towards high school students. Special guest appearance and workshop by artist, entrepreneur and former ASU outreach project director, DSmoke. First 100 students to register will receive a free copy of "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone.
Tues. April 25
9th Annual MLK
Remembrance Day at UCLA
12pm | Noon broadcast of MLK’s sermon ‘Remaining Awake During A
Great Revolution’ delivered at the National Cathedral, March 31,
1968, which features Dr. King challenging listeners to remain vigilant
and voicing support for coalition building to address breaches of
society like poverty, racism, violence, etc.
12pm | 15th Annual Beloved Community Luncheon that features presentation of the C. Bernard Jackson-UCLA Bridge Builders Award, 12-1:30pm on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at UCLA Royce Hall. Event is free with RSVP. Award Nominees are:
Mayor of Los Angeles
4pm | Royce Hall Lecture – ‘Taking Accountability, Making An Impact’
to be delivered by Chase Griffin, a current UCLA student-athlete, a nationally recognized leader in college athletics and 2-time winner of the national NIL Male Athlete of the Year awards from the NIL Summit.
5:30pm | James C. Williamson Awards Reception
Award nominees are:
Desirae Barragan, a member of the San Gabriel Band of Mission of Southern California –Kizh Nation, and third-year UCLA student double majoring in American Indian Studies and Human Biologyand Society with a concentration in Medicine and Public Health. Amin her other involvements, Barragan also serves as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ambassador at UCLA.
​
Alberto Retana, a UCLA alum, is the President and CEO of Community Coalition, a nonprofit organizations based in South Los Angeles that empowers residents to transform their community, improve education, and reimagine public safety. Alberto has developed initiatives to build Community Coalition into a mass community based organizations that involves thousands of South Los Angeles residents in the practice of creating change.
*7pm | Reel Talk Film Series screening & panel discussion featuring
the film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, a 2022 American
superhero film based on Marvel, is the sequel to Black Panther (2018). In the film, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death; and in the process learn vibranium, which is the source of their military advantage, can also be found off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.