DANBURY, CONN. — On Feb. 11 and 12, Western Connecticut State University will host a diversity lecture and theater presentation to highlight past and present changes in our country and celebrate Black History Month. Both events are free and open to the public.

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, The Rev. DeForest Blake “Buster” Soaries Jr. will discuss “The New Promised Land: Martin Luther King’s Dream and its Reality in the Age of the Obama Presidency,” as part of the university’s diversity lecture series. The event will be in the Student Center Theater on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. Soaries is a Baptist minister, politician, author and former chairman of the federal Election Assistance Commission. He also served as New Jersey’s Secretary of State from 1999 to 2002.

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, WestConn will host the diversity theater presentation of “Voices: Those That Wore the Shoe” in the Student Center Theater. The two-actor play is based on the stories and memories of former slaves as told to the 1934 Federal Writers’ Project. Director of Multicultural Affairs and Affirmative Action Dr. Bryan Samuel said that both events will highlight our nation’s road to progressive change.

“If you look at transition patterns in America, one side of the continuum allows no opportunity and the other side shows nothing but opportunity. And there are hundreds of years between those two. There are people who helped blacks escape from slavery and others who paved the way for equal rights.”

Samuel said that it is an honor to have Soaries on campus to address the opportunities and challenges that face us and the individual responsibilities to pursue our dreams. The play, which relies on the narratives of former slaves, gives an accurate, first-person account of some of the important experiences in our nation’s history, he said. “‘Voices’ has been called powerful, gripping, educational and entertaining,” Samuel said. “These events both tell huge stories of transition.”

For more information, call (203) 837-8278.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.