UCI to Stage 4-Day King Celebration

Orange County celebrations honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will begin this year on the civil rights leader’s actual birth date, Jan. 15.

Though the federal observance for King’s birthday falls on the third Monday of January--this year, on the 21st--UC Irvine will kick off the largest local celebration, its seventh annual King Symposium, with a schedule of activities Tuesday through Friday.

The keynote address Tuesday will be delivered by noted African-American lecturer Haki Madhubuti, director of the Institute of Positive Education and professor of English at Chicago State University. Madhubuti is also the author of the book, “Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?” and will speak on “The Changing Face of Struggle,” starting at 7:30 p.m. at UCI’s Crystal Cove Auditorium.

“Haki Madhubuti is an important choice for us because he addresses the age-old problems the black community is still dealing with,” said UCI professor Lavada Austin. “He talks about unemployment, teen pregnancy and other issues within the community that have to be dealt with right now and he stresses the survival of the black male, which is imperative to the race.”

During Youth-Education Day on Thursday, California Assemblywoman Marguerite Archie-Hudson will address students at 4:30 p.m. in the campus’ Cross Cultural Center. Archie-Hudson is the former director of research at UCLA and the former California chief of staff for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Austin said Youth-Education Day will include a variety of workshops, lectures and panel discussions on gang activity.

“We want to clear up many people’s misconceptions about gangs and why young black children join them,” Austin said. “We want to give people an inside look at what this does to a family and how it deals with this.”

Other events during the week will include dramatic presentations from the Living History Museum, which will feature actors as African-American historical figures, jazz performances by the group Eternal Wind and a gospel tribute.

A march and rally at Gateway Plaza on campus will culminate the symposium.

All events, with the exception of the keynote presentation, are free to the public. Tickets for Madhubuti can be purchased for $7 at the Bren Center Box Office.

Other Orange County King holiday activities will include a program sponsored by the local chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People at Valley High School, 1801 S. Greeneville St. in Santa Ana on Jan. 21.