ECU hosts MLK day activities

East Carolina University will sponsor a series of programs next week (Jan. 16 – 18), including a candlelight march on Monday, as part of its observance of the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Students, campus officials and community leaders will march from Christenbury Memorial Gym to Mendenhall Student Center at 7 p.m. Following the march, a program remembering the life and works of the civil rights leaders will be held in the student center’s Hendrix Theater. Monday’s program will also include music by the ECU Gospel Choir. On Tuesday, a touring drama company will perform “My Children! My Africa!.” The play, by playwright Athol Fugard, is about events that led to the outbreak of unrest in South Africa in 1984. Sponsored by the ECU Student Union Cultural Awareness Committee and the Office of Minority Student Affairs, the performance begins at 8 p.m. in the student center. The drama presentation by the Mixed Company, a group of professional actors, is free and the public is invited to attend.

Dr. Crystal Kuykendall, the president of Kreative and Innovative Resources for Kids, will give a public presentation on Wednesday at noon in room 1028 of the General Classroom Building. Kuykendall is the author of “From Rage to Hope: Strategies for Reclaiming Black & Hispanic Students.” The book explores the issues of anger, hopelessness and under achievement among many minority students.

She also wrote two other books, “Improving Black Student Achievement Through Enhancing Self-Image,” and “Developing Leadership for Parent/Citizen Groups.” Along with being a noted educator, Kuykendall holds a law degree from Georgetown University and has practiced law in the District of Columbia.

The theme for the Martin Luther King birthday observance is “A Commitment to Human Rights and World Peace.” The campus programs are open to the public.