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. |