Martin Luther King III to Speak at MLK Memorial Tribute
11/29/2018
Human rights activist Martin Luther King III, son of the legendary Civil Rights leaders the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, will give the keynote address at the seventh annual MLK Memorial Tribute, hosted by Saint Louis University and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019.
The event is being co-hosted by Ameren Missouri in partnership with SLU and the Urban League.
This year鈥檚 tribute will be held in the Wool Ballroom, Busch Student Center, and will begin with breakfast at 8 a.m. The memorial program begins at 9 a.m. Complimentary parking will be available in the University鈥檚 Laclede Garage.
Like his parents, King III has dedicated his life to advancing human and civil rights issues in the United States and to community activism. In 1997, he was unanimously elected to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SLCL), a prominent civil rights organization founded by his father.
In 2006, King III founded Realizing the Dream, an organization dedicated to eliminating poverty that later became part of The King Center. On April 4, 2008, King and the Rev. Al Sharpton led a march to honor the 40th anniversary of his father鈥檚 death. More recently, in 2017, he marched with Sharpton in Washington D.C. as part of the Ministers March for Justice.
In its seven years, the MLK tribute at SLU has drawn an array of distinguished speakers. In 2018, diplomat and noted civil rights champion Ambassador Andrew Young, delivered the tribute鈥檚 keynote address. He received the Civil Rights Legends Award. Young told the crowd, 鈥淭his country is not going backward.鈥�
A year earlier, Dr. George Fraser, chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc., focused on economic empowerment as the only way to achieve true equality, telling those assembled, 鈥淵ou cannot consume yourself into equality and you cannot consume yourself into power. We must engage in entrepreneurship, and we must develop a new kind of consciousness.鈥�
The events awardees have included Kelvin Adams, Ph.D., superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools; Natalie DuBose, owner of Natalie鈥檚 Cakes and Natalie鈥檚 Sweet Success; Judge Glenda Hatchett, Fulton County, Georgia鈥檚 first African American Chief Presiding Judge; Marc Morial, president of the national Urban League; and civil rights leader Xernona Clayton, among others.
RSVPs are requested for the event. To reserve a place, register at this or contact Rita McMillan at rita.mcmillan@slu.edu or 314-977-2254 or Regina Walton at regina.walton@slu.edu or 314-977-4585.
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation鈥檚 oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University鈥檚 diverse community of scholars is SLU鈥檚 service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.