MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

January 12, 2004

University to Commemorate Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University will commemorate the life and legacy of the late civil and human rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in January with special events on the Evanston and Chicago campuses.

The Evanston campus events include a celebration featuring keynote speaker Anna Deavere Smith, an award-winning playwright, actor and New York University professor, at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall (11 a.m. Jan. 19); an Annual Memorial Forum and Candlelight Vigil at Alice Millar Chapel (7:30 p.m. Jan. 16); and a Gertrude and G. D. Crain Jr. Lecture Series talk by Rev. Michael L. Pfleger at the McCormick Tribune Center (4 p.m. Jan. 19).

The Chicago campus celebration at the School of Law (11 a.m. Jan. 19) will feature keynote talks by University of California, Irvine faculty member and Los Angeles attorney Angela Oh and poet and activist Bryonn Bain. All four events are free and open to the public.

Northwestern will set aside three hours -- from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- Monday, Jan. 19, on both campuses for a University-wide observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The 11 a.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus, will begin with greetings from University President Henry S. Bienen; Northwestern Trustee and alumnus Thomas Z. Hayward, a member of the Bell, Boyd & Lloyd law firm in Chicago; and Evanston Mayor and Northwestern alumna Lorraine Morton.

Keynote speaker Anna Deavere Smith, a tenured professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU), teaches courses on the art of listening at the NYU School of Law. Her work explores the American character and multifaceted national identity.

In 1996, Smith was awarded The MacArthur Foundation fellowship because she “created a new form of theater -- a blend of theatrical art, social commentary, journalism and intimate reverie.”

As a playwright and performer, Smith during the past 19 years has created a body of theatrical works which she calls “On the Road: A Search for American Character.”

“Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities,” which explores the 1991 clash between Jews and blacks in that New York community, was the runner-up for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize. It earned her an Obie and other awards. Smith’s most recent play, “House Arrest,” explores the mythic role that the presidency has played throughout American history.

The Pick-Staiger celebration will include choral works sung 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. In addition, the combined singers of the University Chorale and University Singers will present a short program of concert music, spirituals and gospel-inspired choral works by African American composers

A live broadcast of the Evanston campus program will be shown in the Owen L. Coon Forum in Leverone Hall, 2001 Sheridan Road, and the Ryan Family Auditorium in the Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, on the Evanston campus. A live Webcast will be accessible from the Web page listed below on the day of the event.

• The 25th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Forum and Candlelight Vigil at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, at Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, will feature a keynote address by George E. Curry, editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) News Service and BlackPressUSA.com. Curry’s weekly column is syndicated by NNPA to more than 200 African American newspapers, with a combined readership of 15 million. Prior to joining the NNPA, Curry was editor-in-chief of Emerge, Black America’s News Magazine from 1993 until June 2000. The Northwestern Community Ensemble will perform.

• The Rev. Michael L. Pfleger of the Faith Community of Saint Sabina in Chicago will be the keynote speaker during the 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, Gertrude and G. D. Crain Jr. Lecture Series at the McCormick Tribune Center, 1879 Campus Drive. Pfleger has sought to break down the walls of racism and denominationalism by building unity among all people.

• The 11 a.m. Jan. 19 Chicago campus celebration, featuring speakers Angela Oh and Bryonn Bain, will be held in Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University School of Law, 375 E. Chicago Ave., and will be followed by a reception in Thorne Lobby. Attorney Oh examines issues of race, diversity and the future of our society through her work as a teacher, public lecturer and lawyer. Her Los Angeles-based law firm, Oh & Barrera, LLP, seeks to provide services to clients seeking to strengthen their organizations in changing worlds. She teaches a course on race and American law, as well as leadership for the 21st century, at the University of California, Irvine.

Bain, a Harvard Law School graduate, is an accomplished writer and poet. He was crowned Boston’s 1999 Slam Poetry Champion, and then went on to win the 2000 Nuyorican Grand Slam Championship. Darlene Hill, a FOX News Chicago team member since 1994, will serve as mistress of ceremonies. The Chicago program will include a performance of choral and gospel music and remarks by the deans of the School of Law and the Feinberg School of Medicine and students.

For updated information about the scheduled events, go to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Web site at http://www.northwestern.edu/mlk/program.html.