Events celebrate life of Martin Luther King

Sinclair will be the guest speaker at the Hospitals' ceremony commemorating the life of King on Wednesday, Jan. 15, the anniversary of King's birth. Elders will be the keynote speaker when the University celebrates Martin Luther King Day at noon Monday, Jan. 20, in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

"We are delighted that Dr. Elders has agreed to take part in our commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," said Kathryn Stell, Deputy Dean of Students in the University and Chair of the Coordinating Council for Minority Issues. "Like Dr. King, Dr. Elders has devoted her life to serving the under-served and promoting social justice. We hope that her participation will encourage people from all over the Chicago area to visit this campus and take part in our celebration."

The event will feature a Latino children's dance troupe and performances by the Rockefeller Chapel Choir and MaJ'N, a Christian student a cappella group. Provost Geoffrey Stone will give welcoming remarks. The invocation will be presented by the Rev. Allison Boden, Dean of Rockefeller Chapel, and the benediction will be given by Rabbi Suzanne Griffel, Acting Director of Hillel Foundation. A student from the Divinity School will read from the work of Dr. King.

The first African-American surgeon general, serving from 1993 to 1994, Elders was also the second woman to be sworn in to that post. At her confirmation she said, "I want to change the way we think about health by putting prevention first. I want to be the voice and vision of the poor and powerless. I would like to make every child born in America a wanted child." Elders is now a professor and physician at the University of Arkansas Medical School.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 702-0161.

Sinclair, author of Coffee Will Make You Black (1995) and Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice (1996), will present the keynote address at the Hospitals' ceremony at noon Wednesday, Jan. 15, in Room P-117 of the Medical Center. The ceremony will include the presentation of the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award to the Hospitals or Biological Sciences Division employee who best exemplifies King's commitment to fellowship, peace and justice.

This event, as in the past, will feature the gospel choir from St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School. Hospitals employee Vanessa Dukes will join them in performance.

For more information, call 702-1091.