ECU plans MLK day activities

(Jan. 11, 1994)   —   A candlelight march and a speech by a member of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s executive staff will highlight East Carolina University’s observance of the civil rights leader’s birthday, Jan. 17.

Dorothy Cotton, the director of student activities at Cornell University, will give the Martin Luther King Day address on Monday at 8 p.m. in Mendenhall Student Center. Cotton was the education director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1960 to 1972. She worked closely with Martin Luther King and was the only female member of his executive staff.

Prior to her presentation on Monday, there will be a candlelight march from Christenbury Gymnasium to the student center starting at 7 p.m. ECU’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is co-sponsoring the march and the address by Cotton. Both events are open to the public.

Later in the week, ECU will conduct other activities to honor Dr. King’s memory. There will be a “Wish Board for World Peace” at several campus locations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Students will be invited to use the board to express their wishes for peace in the world.

A public presentation and panel discussion on “The Civil Rights Movement and its Portrayal in the Media” will conclude the events on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the student center. The discussion will feature Barry Saunders, a columnist with the News and Observer. 

Related to the observance, ECU has invited its students to submit essays and art on the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday theme of “A Commitment to Human Rights and World Peace.” Prizes for the best work will be awarded April 4, the anniversary of King’s death.