NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Juan Williams, best-selling author and senior correspondent for National Public Radio’s "Morning Edition," will deliver the keynote address for Vanderbilt University’s 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series Jan. 19-27.
All events during the series are free and open to the public.
The series kicks off on Monday, Jan. 19, with a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt’s Benton Chapel, sponsored by the Organization of Black Graduate and Professional Students. The vigil will feature a talk by civil rights activist and attorney Thomas Todd and performances by Vanderbilt’s Voices of Praise gospel choir and Rhythm and Roots dance ensemble. Todd has held executive posts with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Operation PUSH, the international organization founded by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
Williams’ keynote address, "Brown v Board@ 50," at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, highlights the 2004 series’ theme "Educating the Next Generation: Continue The Dream" and will explore the legacy of one of the most important pieces of legislation in civil rights and education history. Williams’ talk is preceded by a 5 p.m. reception. Both the reception and the keynote address will be held in Vanderbilt’s Ingram Hall. Parking for the event is available for $1 in South Garage (formerly Capers Garage) on Children’s Way (formerly Capers Avenue).
In addition to his current role with NPR’s "Morning Edition," Williams has served as host of NPR’s "Talk of the Nation" and had a 21-year career as a columnist, editorial writer and White House reporter with the Washington Post. He provides political analysis for Fox News Channel and is the author of the critically acclaimed biography Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary and the nonfiction bestseller Eyes on The Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965, a companion volume to the critically praised PBS series.
Other events during the series include a concert by singer/songwriter Kate Campbell on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Campbell’s musical tastes were forged in soul, R&B, Southern rock, country and folk music. Her music has been compared to that of Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams in its consistency and honest self-examination and self-revelation. As the daughter of a Baptist preacher from Sledge, Miss., Campbell spent her formative years in the core of the civil rights movement.
A second concert featuring Vanderbilt Blair School of Music alumnus Daniel Roumain is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 27. Described as a combination of Mozart, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Prince, Roumain has gained national notice for his blending of classical and hip hop idioms and styles. He serves as assistant composer-in-residence at the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York and is chair of the Music Composition and Theory Department and artist-in-residence at The Harlem School of the Arts, a community-based performing arts school.
For a complete listing of events scheduled for the 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series at Vanderbilt, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/mlk/.
Media contact: Princine Lewis, (615) 322-NEWS
Princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu