Keynote speaker Professor Lani Guinier will discuss "Confronting the Gap: Building and Sustaining Inclusion" at MIT's 27th annual celebratory breakfast to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tomorrow in Morss Hall at Walker Memorial.
Professor Guinier was the first African-American woman to receive tenure at the Harvard Law School. She came to public attention in 1993 when President Clinton nominated her to head the civil rights division of the Department of Justice and then withdrew her name without a confirmation hearing. The experience prompted her to write the book Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback into a New Vision of Social Justice.
Other speakers at the breakfast include President Charles M. Vest, Provost Robert A. Brown, sophomore Maria M. Otero and graduate student Christopher M. Jones. Junior Huanne T. Thomas will be the emcee. The 7:30am breakfast is hosted by President Vest and his wife, Rebecca M. Vest.
An installation created by 30 MIT and Wellesley students in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. IAP Design Seminar can be seen tomorrow through Sunday in Lobby 10. The exhibit is entitled Bear the Burden, Carry the Torch: You Are Part of a Continuous Struggle.
On Friday, Semenya McCord & Associates will celebrate Dr. King's life by performing selections from the Sacred Concerts of Duke Ellington, traditional and contemporary gospel, blues and jazz from 5:30-7pm in Kresge Auditorium. Admission is free and the public is invited.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on February 7, 2001.
