January 6, 2005

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Remembering the life, legacy of civil rights leader

Jan. 17 celebration features addresses by Dr. King’s daughter, alumna Johnnetta Cole

Yolanda King

Johnnetta Cole

Northwestern will commemorate the life and legacy of the late civil and human rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in January with special events on the Evanston and Chicago campuses.

The Evanston campus events include a Jan. 17 celebration featuring keynote speaker Yolanda King — eldest daughter of Dr. King. Chicago campus events include a panel discussion on social justice and a lecture by distinguished alumna Johnnetta Cole, both Jan. 17.

The University has set aside three hours — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 17 — for the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. All classes are cancelled during those hours.

Ms. King, actress, producer and lecturer, will speak at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 17. She emphasizes the role of theater as a form of expression and has participated in numerous civil and human rights demonstrations and has spoken before religious, educational, civic and human rights groups.

Committed to using her talents to affect social and personal change, Ms. King combines her involvement with human rights organizations and causes with her artistic pursuits. A lifetime member of the NAACP, she serves on the board of directors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

A live broadcast will be shown in the Owen L. Coon Forum in Leverone Hall and in the Ryan Family Auditorium, Technological Institute. A Webcast will be shown at www.northwestern.edu/mlk.

An interdisciplinary panel discussion at 11 a.m. and An Evening With Dr. Johnnetta Cole, president of Bennett College for Women, Greens-boro, N.C., at 6 p.m. will be held Jan. 17 in Thorne Auditorium, Rubloff Building.

The dialogue with Dr. Cole will focus on whether children of today are ready to launch the next civil rights movement. There will be a presentation by The HistoryMakers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to archiving African American video oral histories.