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25th MLK celebration tomorrow with Mfume as keynote speaker

The Hon. Kweisi Mfume, president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, will be the keynote speaker at MIT's 25th celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tomorrow.

Mr. Mfume, a former US congressman from Maryland, will speak at the annual celebratory breakfast at 7:45am at Morss Hall in Walker Memorial. The theme of the celebration is "Teaching and Learning: The Key to Full Inclusion." President Charles Vest will introduce Mr. Mfume.

Freshman Maribel Gomez and graduate student Randal Pinkett will offer brief recollections of Dr. King at the breakfast, hosted by President and Mrs. Vest.

Chancellor Lawrence Bacow will present the Dr. Martin Luther King Leadership Awards to Alexander Slocum, the Alex and Brit d'Arbeloff Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Boston public school math teacher Richard Williamson (SB 1985); and Adriana L. Holguin, a senior in mechanical engineering.

Provost Robert Brown will recognize the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professors: Drs. Lloyd Demetrius of brain and cognitive sciences, Lynda Jordan of chemistry, Pamela McCauley-Bell of aeronautics and astronautics, Starling Hunter of the Sloan School and Arnold Stancell of chemical engineering.

The invocation will be given by MIT Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, whose father, also a rabbi, participated in the Freedom Rides with Dr. King in 1962. Betsy Draper, MIT's Southern Baptist chaplain, will offer the benediction. The mistress of ceremonies will be Shayna Smith, a senior in civil and environmental engineering. The MIT Gospel Choir will perform.

The celebration also includes an interactive exhibit in Lobby 7 designed by 15 undergraduates. The installation project, coordinated by senior Eto Otitigbe, is entitled "Reflections: A Tribute to all Individuals Who Have Supported the Struggle for Human Rights." An open discussion involving the designers will be held on Friday from noon-2pm in Rm 4-145.

In addition to the exhibit, a gospel quartet consisting of Semenya McCord, Wannetta Jackson, George W. Russell Jr. and Byron Gibbs will perform in Lobby 7 from 12-1pm tomorrow. The South Mass Choir, under the direction of Darryll Maston, will perform a musical tribute to Dr. King in Lobby 7 at 5pm.

The celebration concludes on Saturday with a daylong conference for women of color ages 15 and up entitled "Cyber Sisters and Virtual Visionaries." The conference, at the Tang Center (Building E51), is sponsored by the MIT Community Fellows Program. It will bring together young women of color and professionals who are actively involved in the design, production, distribution and use ofinformation technology.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on February 3, 1999.

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