Dr. Masonya Joy Bennett
MORVEN — Dr. Masonya Joy Bennett, formerly of Morven, N. C. will give remarks at the Annual Celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Saturday, January 18. The celebration will take place at the SPCC Lockhart-Taylor Center. The program begins after the Memorial March (which begins at DSS at 8:00 a. m.) and the Prayer Breakfast (which begins about 9:00 a. m.).
Dr. Bennett was born and reared in Anson County. She is the daughter of the late Nelson Bennett and Winnie M. Bennett of Morven, N. C. . She holds the Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and International Studies as well as a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In addition, Masonya earned a Master of Arts in African and African Diaspora Studies and a PhD in Global and Sociocultural Studies with a focus in Cultural Anthropology from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She has lived and worked, and conducted research in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Colombia, and Brazil.
Masonya Bennett is currently an Assistant Professor of Black Studies at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. Her academic work focuses on race and the lived experiences and diverse cultures of African descendants in the US South and Latin America. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Parallel Cultures, a registered 501c3 organization geared toward promoting cultural awareness and exposure to K-12 youth in vulnerable communities.
The theme for this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration is “Celebrating the Dream: Now Becoming a Reality.”
Other performances for the day include Praise Dance Ministries, the Anson Men of Action, Anson Middle School Choir, the Gatewood Brothers, Telesha Heilig, Morven Elementary School’s Dr. Covia Boyd and Kids, and a skit coordinated and directed by Debra Davis and Brian Ellerbe with diverse members of the community sharing the concept, “Journey to the Dream.”
This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Winnie M. Bennett, 704-465-0867.