Rev. Lowery to speak at MLK event

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a founding member and former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will be the keynote speaker for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Jan. 18 in the Chapel, kicking off a week of programming commemorating King's life, officials announced Tuesday.

The 20th anniversary celebration will also showcase a variety of performances, including music, dance and a student monologue concerning the challenges of life in an increasingly diverse world. Television journalist Soledad O'Brien, host of CNN: Special Investigations Unit, will close the week of reflection with a speech Jan. 22, said Ben Reese, co-chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Committee.

This year's Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration programming will center on the question, "What Becomes of the Dream? Faith and Politics, Vision and Leadership"-a theme that is especially poignant given the historic presidential candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama, said Reese, who is also vice president for institutional equity.

"Whether or not [Obama] wins, I think the whole process is in line with Dr. King's dream for the kind of society where everyone truly has opportunity," Reese said. "Dr. King's hope for America is really a hope for a transformation of a society.... That task is not one that can be accomplished in a year or two or even a decade or two, so I really hope that none of us think that the place that we're at currently in our society is as good as it gets."

Although student turnout for Martin Luther King Week programming was been low in recent years, Reese noted that attendance figures have varied depending on the speakers present.

Reese added that he hopes O'Brien-whom students may know for anchoring the popular CNN special "Black in America" in July-will also draw a sizeable crowd, as boosting student attendance at the week's programing is one of the planning committee's most important objectives.

Lowery-who is the recipient of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Martin Luther King Center Peace Award and the United Methodist Church Justice Award-worked extensively with King throughout the Civil Rights Movement, helping to found the SCLC and leading demonstrations against segregation. Although King passed away more than 40 years ago, the presence of a speaker so close to the civil rights visionary may heighten the event's relevance for students, Reese said.

"It's one thing to have a perspective on Dr. King's written words, to have had the opportunity to see him from a distance. It's yet another thing to have been a close colleague and partner in the struggle for social justice," Reese said. "I think Rev. Lowery brings a very special perspective."