University plans Martin Luther King Jr. tributes

The UW will play a larger role in this year’s local tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

For the first time, the City-County King Recognition Day program will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, at the Wisconsin Union Theater, 800 Langdon St.

Keynoting the event, titled “Building on the Past, Challenges for our Future,” will be the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a former Washington, D.C., director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a former delegate to Congress and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Admission is free. Free parking will be available in Lot 6 under Helen C. White Library, 600 N. Park.

Past King Day programs had been held at the Oscar Mayer Theatre, but as a result of ongoing construction around the Overture Center, the City-County King Coalition moved the event to campus.

The program also features the annual City and County Dr. King Awards and the MLK Community Choir, directed by Leotha Stanley of UW–Madison’s Community Partnerships Office.

The King Coalition also will sponsor a community dinner, scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, in Room B5 of Gordon Commons, 717 W. Johnson St. The meal is free and the public is welcome.

At noon on Jan. 17, the state will hold its official King Day tribute under the Capitol rotunda. The guest speaker will be broadcast journalist and former CNN anchor Andria Hall.

For information on other King Day events, call Edward Lee at (608) 251-8550 or Mona Winston Adams at (608) 223-9121, ext. 112, or visit the Web site of the Urban League of Greater Madison.