January 9, 2003

Remembering MLK

Professor, author Cornel West will highlight University-wide MLK celebration Jan. 20

Northwestern will commemorate the life and legacy of the late civil rights and human rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with special events and activities that include a keynote address on the Evanston campus by Princeton University professor and author Cornel West.

Martin Luther King

Northwestern will commemorate the life and legacy of the late civil rights and human rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with special events and activities that include a keynote address on the Evanston campus by Princeton University professor and author Cornel West.
Northwestern has set aside three hours — from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — Monday, Jan. 20, for a University-wide observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. All but one of the events are open to the public, and the events are free, unless otherwise noted.

Chicago and Evanston campus classes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. have been cancelled for Jan. 20. University offices on both campuses will either close or operate with minimal staffing to allow staff members to attend the events and activities scheduled during those hours.

Cornel West

The 11 a.m. Monday (Jan. 20) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on the Evanston campus begins with greetings from University President Henry S. Bienen; Cook County Circuit Court Judge Ronald C. Riley, Northwestern Trustee and alumnus; and Evanston Mayor and Northwestern alumna Lorraine Morton.

Evanston campus keynote speaker West is the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton University. The title of his talk is “Race Matters.” Prior to West’s appointment at Princeton, he was the Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor at Harvard University teaching Afro-American Studies and Philosophy of Religion. West is the author of numerous articles and books including “The Cornel West Reader,” the 1993 best-seller “Race Matters” and “The African American Century.” A book signing by West will be held in the Pick-Staiger lobby immediately following the program.

The Evanston campus celebration at Pick-Staiger, where more than 1,000 seats are available, also will feature performances by the Northwestern Community Ensemble, a multicultural campus ensemble founded in 1971 that sings anthems, spirituals, hymn arrangements and traditional and contemporary gospel, praise and worship songs, and the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra performing “Let Freedom Ring” by Alexander Miller. The event is presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Committee. A live broadcast of the Evanston campus program will be shown in Owen L. Coon Forum, Leverone Hall, and the Ryan Family Auditorium, Technolog-ical Institute. A live Webcast will be simultaneously shown at www.northwestern.edu/mlk.

On the Chicago campus, the 11 a.m. celebration will be held at Thorne Auditorium. This ticketed program is for Northwestern students, faculty and staff members only and will feature performances by Habeas Chorus and Midwestern Wind. Thorne Auditorium doors will open at 10:15 a.m. A live broadcast of the Chicago campus program will be shown in the Arthur Rubloff Building, Room 140 and 150 classrooms.

Tickets are required and ticket distribution is on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket distribution information is available at www.law.northwestern.edu/dream/ or call (312) 503-0785. Tickets are available with WildCARD or Northwestern Memorial Hospital identification.
The student-organized program is presented by the DREAM Committee, an acronym for Day to Recognize the Efforts and Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.