Rev. Bernice King will help the University keep the dream alive this January.
The youngest daughter of the late Martin Luther King, Jr. will speak in the Chapel about her father's life on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. as part of week-long festivities commemorating King's birthday and promoting racial awareness.
"Martin Luther King Day is one of the few times of the year when the whole community comes together to improve race relations and receive inspiration from the life of Dr. King," said Debra Brazzel, the associate dean of The Chapel and director of religious life.
Also on Jan. 15 at 11 a.m., Samuel Proctor, a professor of the practice at the Divinity School, will give a sermon in the Chapel. Proctor knew King and was deeply involved in the civil rights movement.
"Through the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, we say that the values of justice and equality and the valuing of different cultures are important," Brazzel said.
In the past years, the planning committee of the annual Martin Luther King Commemoration has had difficulty publicizing events to students because Martin Luther King Day comes just after the winter break. Last year, video tapes detailing the civil rights movement and King's life were presented in the Bryan Center for a week.
This year, a candlelight vigil will kick off the commemoration on Jan. 13 at the Chapel.
A Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium will be held in Von Cannon on Jan. 16, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Symposium includes an audio-visual presentation of students' opinions, a panel discussion and refreshments. The panel discussion will be led by a group of faculty, administrators and student moderators. A question-and-answer session addressing race relations at the University and the relevance of King's activism today will follow.
Brazzel said that there is still a lot of work to do regarding race-relations, but events such as those scheduled for January do a lot to make people conscious of the importance of racial issues.
"We feel that the activities will unite the races both on campus and in the Durham community," said Michael Hunt, executive assistant to the vice president and vice provost and chair of the planning committee. "They have in the past and will in the future."
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