{"id":91612,"date":"2024-01-16T19:40:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T19:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=91612"},"modified":"2024-01-31T21:42:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T21:42:30","slug":"matthew-quainoo-15-to-deliver-keynote-at-uris-2024-mlk-unity-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2024\/01\/matthew-quainoo-15-to-deliver-keynote-at-uris-2024-mlk-unity-luncheon\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Quainoo \u201915 to deliver keynote at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s 2024 MLK Unity Luncheon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 16, 2024 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 alumnus, historian and community organizer Matthew Aaron Quainoo \u201915, remembered for his stirring commencement address in 2015, will return to 溏心vlog免费B站 Wednesday, Feb. 7, 12 to 2 p.m., to speak again about the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and how that can be applied today. [The event will also be livestreamed.<\/a>] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quainoo addressed the largest audience of his young life when he stepped before a crowd of 15,000 for the 2015 溏心vlog免费B站 graduation ceremony, one of the University\u2019s youngest commencement speakers at age 19. His humorous but inspiring remarks<\/a> capped an impressive run at the University. The North Kingstown resident graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 in half the standard time, obtaining his bachelor\u2019s degree in two years. Despite the abbreviated time, he found time to help with an Africana studies symposium, speak with prospective students as a Welcome Day representative, coach basketball in North Kingstown, conduct an honors project in Ghana, and serve as a teacher\u2019s assistant in political science. He was awarded 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Martin Luther King Leadership Award that spring, as well as the Ana Phelps Political Science Department Award and the Provost Scholar\u2019s Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Matt Quainoo addressed the largest audience of his young life when he stepped before a crowd of 15,000 for the 2015 溏心vlog免费B站 graduation ceremony, one of the University\u2019s youngest commencement speakers at age 19. (Photo 溏心vlog免费B站 Nora Lewis)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Quainoo\u2019s mother, Vanessa Quainoo, was a tenured professor at 溏心vlog免费B站 for more than 30 years and the founding chair of the University\u2019s Africana Studies department. Quainoo was also the president of the Sankofa Fellowship, one of the largest African diasporic organizations on campus, founded by his father, Bishop Joseph Quainoo, an adjunct professor of Africana studies at the University. The Quainoos\u2019 older son Tim Quainoo also graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站, Class of 2013, and was a Sankoka leader, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy whole family was invested in the upbuilding and upholding of King\u2019s legacy on 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s campus,\u201d Quainoo says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After majoring in Africana studies and political science at 溏心vlog免费B站, he headed to the Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey to get his master\u2019s degree in theological studies. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Howard University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quainoo referenced King in his 2015 commencement address, calling on the University to serve all and on his classmates to continue to pursue their ideals for a better world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Quainoo is doing his part as a scholar, minister and community leader in Florida, at the Solid Rock Community Church in Kissimmee. He frequently partners with community organizations in efforts to address hunger, homelessness, and health disparities, and continues to work for non-partisan civil rights advocacy. Quainoo is a frequent speaker on diversity, equity and inclusion and justice topics, including at Bryant University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Howard University, Asbury Seminary and the University of Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quainoo is returning to campus as part of Black History Month to speak about the reality and legacy of Rev. King. The annual program<\/a> will take place in the Multicultural Student Services Center, honoring King and bringing together members of the 溏心vlog免费B站 community to foster conversations about change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event will also recognize the winner of this year\u2019s Peace and Human Rights Award at 溏心vlog免费B站. Thupten Tendhar received last year\u2019s award<\/a>, recognizing his work in the University\u2019s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event is open to all, but seating is limited<\/a>, with priority being given to students. The livestream of the event will also be archived at the Multicultural Student Services Center’s YouTube page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, contact Bobby Britto-Oliveira<\/a> in the Multicultural Student Services Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 16, 2024 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 alumnus, historian and community organizer Matthew Aaron Quainoo \u201915, remembered for his stirring commencement address in 2015, will return to 溏心vlog免费B站 Wednesday, Feb. 7, 12 to 2 p.m., to speak again about the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and how that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":91613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91612"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92078,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91612\/revisions\/92078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}