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January 8, 2009
MIAMI – Florida International University’s Office of Multicultural Programs and Services will be commemorating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a weeklong celebration.
One of the highlights will be the traditional MLK commemorative breakfast which will be held from 8 – 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Graham University Center Ballroom at FIU-University Park, 11200 S.W. 8th St.
The breakfast’s keynote speaker will be Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College for Women. Recognized for her progressive and insightful observations, Malveaux is an economist, author and commentator known for her contributions to the public dialogue on issues such as race, culture, gender, and their economic impacts.
As a writer and syndicated columnist, her work appears regularly in USA Today, Black Issues in Higher Education, Ms. magazine, Essence magazine, and The Progressive. Her weekly columns also appear in numerous newspapers across the country including the Los Angeles Times, The Charlotte Observer, The New Orleans Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, and The San Francisco Examiner. In addition to her columns and regular appearances on CNN, BET and other television outlets, Malveaux’s academic work has been included in numerous papers, studies and publications.
More than 500 guests are expected at the event. Proceeds from the breakfast go towards the MLK Scholarship Fund. Each year, graduating Miami Dade County School students submit an essay with King serving as the inspiration, and they compete for three prizes. The first place winner receives a $2,000 tuition scholarship for the first academic year at FIU. The second place winner receives $1,000 toward the first semester’s tuition and the third place winner receives $500 that can be applied to their first semester at FIU. Each recipient also receives a $1,000 meal award from Aramark Food Services and a $500 book award from the FIU Bookstore.
Tickets to the breakfast cost $40. For more information, call Barbara Douglas at 305-348-2436.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, the FIU Counseling Center is hosting an MLK movie and discussion, “Little Rock Central – 50 Years later”, from 7-9:30 p.m. at the Graham Center, Room 140. The event is free and open to the public.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, more than 150 people, including FIU students, will participate in a Community Day of Service from 9 a.m. to noon. The FIU volunteers will work with the AARP, the Miami-Dade Housing Agency and the Miami River Commission on a beautification project at the Robert King High Towers, located at 1405 NW 7th St.
On Monday, Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, FIU will be the only local university or college participating in the MLK Parade that will make its way through the streets of Liberty City from 8 a.m. to noon. The parade will start at Northwest 54th street and 10th Avenue. This is FIU’s 13th year participating in the parade.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., the Biscayne Bay Campus will host the MLK Youth Forum and Peace Walk at the Wolfe University Center Ballroom located at 3000 NE 151 Street in North Miami. The keynote speaker will be Kemba Smith. Smith, a single mother, advocate, public speaker and soon to be author, has received numerous awards and recognitions for her efforts to educate the public about the devastating social, economic and political consequences of current drug policies.
Smith’s advocacy comes from personal experience. After enjoying an advantaged and sheltered childhood, Smith became involved with a drug dealer, a major figure in a crack cocaine ring, when she went away to college. The turbulent four-year relationship ended with Smith being sentenced to 24.5 years in federal prison in 1994. President Clinton granted her clemency in December 2000 after her case became part of a worldwide crusade to reverse the trend in the rise of lengthy sentences for first-time non-violent offenders. Smith, a law student at Howard University, has been featured in various national news programs and shares her life experiences with young people in hopes of making them recognize that there are consequences to their life choices.
More than 250 Miami Dade County Public School students will be attending the event.
For more event information or tickets, contact the University Park Office of Multicultural Programs at 305-348-2436.
-FIU-
Media contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234
About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.
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