Reframing Justice
Each year the Wooster campus community takes time to engage in meaningful exploration and dialogue about issues that connect with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work and vision on matters relating to civil rights and social justice, activism, responsibility, and engagement.
Keynote Address
Sandy D. Womack, Jr., Ph.D.
Sandy D. Womack Jr. is a veteran educator in public schools. He is currently serving as the Area Superintendent for Region III in Columbus, Ohio. The region contains 19 schools and over8500 students. Womack previously served as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District, Director of Principal Leadership and Development, and The Leader of the Equity Task Force Committee during his tenure in Cleveland.
Womack’s expert opinion on education and culturally related issues has been published in several national publications, including Education Week, Principal Leadership, and the online periodical Education Dive. He can be heard on worldwide podcasts addressing race, education, and equality issues. His most recent interview, Chaos, or Community on the podcast Light Um Up, made Apple’s Top 100 list with over 500 downloads in one hour in over 40countries. Womack is a real example of the quote “it is not how you start but how you finish those counts.” The product of a single-parent home and an incarcerated parent, Womack worked hard to change his circumstances through his love of wrestling and a no-quit attitude.
Womack is a 2x NCAA All-American Wrestler and former president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Iota Phi Chapter at Mt. Union College, where he and his fraternity brothers held the highest GPA of all fraternities on campus. Social Activism has been the foundation of Womack’s career. He and his fraternity brothers were the Grow Your Own Program’s catalysts and the recognition of Martin L. King Jr. Day at Mt. Union utilizing campus sit-ins, economic boycotts, and campus marches. These experiences lead to his belief in the power of education and the need for African American students to have a positive sense of self. Womack’s foundation is built on the theory that quality education is a great equalizer and provides students with choices, chances, and options.
Womack’s mission is to eradicate the academic achievement gaps perpetuated by the current educational system and provide economic empowerment for urban students. As an expert on successful school, transformational change, and turn around, Womack’s services are in high demand as a motivational speaker, and stellar presenter on equity, cultural diversity, and systemic transformational changes. Attending majority Black, high-poverty schools in the city while learning to navigate predominately White Institutions of higher education provided Sandy with a unique set of skills. He uses these skills to support students of all races, and socioeconomic statuses and staff members to improve the choices, chances, adoptions of the community. Sandy is the proud husband of Monica Womack, and father of three daughters Alexis, Imani, and Nia Womack.
Schedule of Events
Interfaith Prayer Brunch and Keynote Address
Sandy Womack will deliver the keynote address at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Interfaith Prayer Brunch. All are welcome to attend.
Book Talk and Signing
Ric Sheffield, Ph.D., the NAACP’s MLK keynote speaker, will talk about and sign copies of his 2021 book, We Got By: A Black Family’s Journey in the Heartland.
More InformationMartin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Service
Keynote Speaker
Ric Sheffield, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Kenyon College, will give the keynote address at the Wooster/Orrville NAACP’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Service. His address is titled, “Building Bridges for Rural Diversity on the Shoulders of Empathy and Compassion.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest winners will be presented with their awards.
Justice Dialogue: Reframing Justice through Education in the Wooster Community
Pam Frese, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
What role does education play in promoting justice? This panel will share different forms of education within our community that seek to promote justice for all and build an awareness of the cultures in which we live. Four presenters will share their important perspectives on the role that education needs to have in our world today.
Justice Dialogue: A New Vision for Israel/Palestine
Joan Friedman, Professor of History of Religious Studies
How could Israelis and Palestinians imagine a justice-minded solution to the ongoing conflict? This dialogue will highlight the small but growing movement of Israelis and Palestinians advocating for a confederation of two states as the best and most equitable resolution to the ongoing conflict.
Justice Dialogue: #BannedBooks and Redefining Justice for Lived Experiences and Knowledges of Marginalized/Minoritized Communities
Pras Subedi ’27
What role do book bans play in erasing the lived experiences of marginalized communities? This dialogue will approach book bans as gendered and racialized and explore their connection to erasing histories of resistance and social change.
Justice Dialogue: The History of Black Student Protests at Wooster: An Interactive Workshop with the Wooster Digital Black History Project
Laura Burch, Associate Professor of French & Francophone Studies; Makayla Smith, Assistant Director of Regional and Multicultural Engagement; and Katie Farr, Institutional Repository Specialist, College Libraries
What role have student protests played in shaping the history of The College of Wooster? This workshop will use the Wooster Digital Black History Project to share some of the ways Black alumni have shaped the development of the College.
Justice Dialogue: Monumental Justice: Honoring History on Campus
Miriam Harley ’24 and Jordan Biro Walters, Associate Professor of History
What role can monuments play in enacting justice? This dialogue will explore the ways the College could use monuments to celebrate aspects of its history connected to movements for justice.
Justice Dialogue: Comprehensive Activism and Intersectionality Through the Lens of Civil Rights Activism
Emma Place ’24
How did civil rights activists make sense of unjust legislation? This dialogue will explore the role unjust legislation has played and continues to play in movements for justice.
Care Package Creation
Collaborate to assemble thoughtful care packages benefiting a mental health organization, a shelter for domestic violence and abuse survivors, a free medical clinic, and a disability support group. These care packages will be distributed by our community partners: National Alliance on Mental Illness of Wayne/Holmes County, OneEighty, Viola Startzman Clinic, and Adaptive Sports Ohio.
Through January 12, community members are welcome to drop off items such as toothbrushes, dish soap, shampoo, soap, trash bags, socks, gloves, and more to the Center of Diversity and Inclusion Lounge on the second floor of the Lowry Student Center.