D.C. Library to host presentation by Dean Agboola along with Gallaudet student art exhibit

In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Week from January 17 through 23, the D.C. Public Library will present Dr. Andrew Jackson Foster and the African-American Deaf Mission in Washington, D.C. at the

Agboola has 30 years of teaching, research, and service experience in higher education, with progressive responsibilities in higher education administration at the program, department, and school levels. His research interests include end-user applications development, information systems analysis and design, and international development with a focus on the empowerment of people with disabilities in developing countries.
Williams is the historian of Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, D. C., and has served as the historian for more than 20 years. During her long membership at Shiloh, Williams has worshipped and interacted with the members of the Silent Mission, a group that performs worship music in American Sign Language (ASL).
Preceding the program, from 5 to 6 p.m., a reception will be held in the library’s Center for Accessibility, Room 215. ASL interpreters will be present.

The library will also open the Social Justice Sneakers: Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes exhibit in the Great Hall, featuring artwork from Gallaudet students.

The exhibit, which will run from January 19 to February 28, will feature 48 pairs of canvas shoes designed by students in an ethics course taught by Professor Amy Stevens at Gallaudet. Inspired by the African American civil rights movement of 1954 to 1968, the “Social Justice Sneakers” are meant to display events that shaped the era, and continue to challenge us today.

Most of the topics entail the struggle for civil rights and equality enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and more specifically, Section 1 of the 14th Amendment. Some students picked issues that were addressed in the 1960s, but have reappeared to challenge us today.