1/6/98

CONTACT: Elaine Ray, News Service (650) 723-7162

Week-long King Celebration begins January 11

"Dream the Boldest Dreams" is the theme of this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week, which begins Sunday, Jan. 11, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 18. The events will include lectures, discussions and seminars, worship services, and the traditional cake on White Plaza.

On Sunday, Jan. 11, at 10 a.m. in Memorial Church, the celebration will begin with an interfaith worship service that will touch on Buddhist, Native American, Jewish and Christian traditions. Talisman a cappella singers will perform.

On Monday, Jan. 12, James H. Jones, author of Bad Blood, a book about the Tuskegee syphilis study, will speak at noon in the Medical School's Fairchild Auditorium. From 2 to 4 p.m. that day, the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (Building 240) will host an open house.

On Tuesday, Jan. 13 at noon there will be a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday party on White Plaza featuring a cappella group Everyday People. In the event of rain, the party will be held in Tresidder Lounge. From 1 to 3 p.m. that day the Black Community Services Center (418 Santa Teresa St.) will sponsor an open house. On Wednesday, Jan. 14, the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project (Cypress Hall) will host an open house from 10 am to noon.

On Thursday, Jan. 15, Johnnetta B. Cole, former president of Spelman College, will sign copies of her current book, Dream the Boldest Dreams and Other Lessons of Life, in the Bookstore from 11 a.m. to noon. She will give the celebration's keynote address in Kresge Auditorium at 8 p.m. that evening.

As the Women's Center's first scholar in residence, Cole will participate in several events there on Friday, Jan. 16, including a lecture on womanist philosophy from 10 a.m. to noon (the Center is located in the Fire Truck House). Space is limited, and those hoping to attend should call 723-0545. Also that day, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (at Serra House) will host a reception for Cole from 1:30 to 3 p.m. RSVP by Wednesday, Jan. 14, by calling 723-1994.

The King celebration ends Sunday, Jan. 18, with two worship services in Memorial Church. During the University Public Worship at 10 a.m., Peter Gomes, professor of divinity at Harvard University, will be the featured speaker. Gomes is the author of The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, published in 1996. Later that day, at 4:30 p.m., a Roman Catholic Gospel Mass, featuring Oakland's St. Columba Parish Gospel Choir (originally scheduled for Jan. 11), will be celebrated.

Sponsors of the week-long event include the African and Afro-American Studies Program; the African-American Staff Group; the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project; the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity; the Black Community Services Center; the Black Student Union; the School of Medicine's Department of Graduate Affairs and Council on Diversity; the Office for Multicultural Development; the Office for Religious Life; the Lutheran Campus Ministry; the Dean of Students Office; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; the Provost's Office; and the President's Office.

Disabled persons needing special accommodations should contact the Black Community Services Center a week before the specific event at 723-1587.

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By Elaine Ray