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College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

Remembering Dr. King

Terri Freeman, University of Dayton alumna and president of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in the Kennedy Union ballroom on campus as part of events during April to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Freeman's talk — "The Incredible Relevance of Dr. King's Message Today" — will discuss the assassination, which occurred April 4, 1968, where the museum stands, and repercussions and the civil rights movement after that. The talk is free to the public.

"The assassination of Martin Luther King was a pivotal moment, at once concluding and catalytic, in a densely turbulent and telling year in American history and culture," said Roger Crum, art history professor and member of the University's Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee who is helping organize the April events. "We have an extraordinary opportunity to hear from Terri Freeman who, as a 1981 UD graduate, brings to campus a deep knowledge of this place and our commitments, which she joins with her work in leading one of America's flagship institutions charged with preserving and advancing the legacy of Dr. King."

At noon on the 50th anniversary of the assassination, April 4, the public is invited to gather at the University's monument to King near the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception for a brief remembrance, followed by a procession to the University's regularly scheduled 12:30 p.m. Mass.

The night before — at 7 p.m. in the Kennedy Union ballroom — the public is invited to a free, public screening of King's last speech that he delivered the night before his assassination. A panel discussion will follow the screening.

The events are part of the University's efforts to advance King's work around civil rights and their alignment with the University's Marianist mission and values. These events are not only designed to commemorate King but to also make real and continuous his timeless message for the campus community.

- Shawn Robinson, associate director of media relations

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