The son and namesake of the nation’s most celebrated civil rights leader is coming to campus Monday, Feb. 9. Martin Luther King III will be the keynote speaker in conjunction with Black History Month.
“I expect Mr. King to address issues of national importance,” said Holmes Center director Aretha Jones-Cook. “Whatever the topic, he will give audiences a good understanding of African-American culture and leave them both motivated and encouraged.”
The highlight of the evening will be the keynote address during a public forum held in The Colvard Union Ballroom at 7 p.m. This event is free to the public. A reception will follow King’s address. The reception will be sponsored by University Honors Program.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” said Black Student Alliance Vice President Eric Wesley. “Hearing a speaker of his caliber will be a great experience for the student leaders. Not only is he the son of one of the greatest civil rights leaders of all time, he is also a champion of civil rights himself.”
King will begin his visit by giving remarks at a invitation only breakfast at 8 a.m., in the Hunter Henry Alumni Center. Leaders from campus and Starkville have been invited to hear King speak. The Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the Office of the Vice President of External Affairs are sponsoring the breakfast.
At noon, King will hold a press conference in the Leo Seal M Club for media members only. Immediately afterwards at 12:30 p.m., the Black Student Alliance is sponsoring a student leadership luncheon in the M
SA Minority Student Affairs Director Shrez Odom said while great strides have been made in equality, much still needs changing.
“If Dr. King came back today, he would see that his dream is closer to being fulfilled than it was before, but there is still some inequality,” Odom said. “Hopefully, Mr. King’s speech will reignite the dream within all of us.”
King, the eldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, is the new president and CEO of the Atlanta-based King Center. He also served for the five years prior as the President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization his father co-founded to promote equality among all people of the world.
The King Center was established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King as the official, living memorial to Martin Luther King Jr.’s beliefs and teachings, and to the man himself. Over 650,000 visitors from all over the world visit the center to view exhibits on the life and teachings of King, according to the center’s official Web site, www.thekingcenter.com,
The center also provides a medium to further the cause of equality, justice, and peace through nonviolent actions.