Filmmaker Spike Lee will be the keynote speaker during the College's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration.
Lee, director of films including "Do the Right Thing," "Jungle Fever," "She's Gotta Have It" and "Malcolm X," will speak January 18 at 7 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium. A reception will follow in the Top of the Hop.
The two-week celebration, themed "The Meaning of Neighbor, Community, and Indifference," begins Jan. 14.
African-American Society President Shauna Brown '99 said she thinks Lee is an appropriate speaker. "He's done great work and will have a lot to say that will contribute to the dialogue on race," she said.
Lee's most recent film, "4 Little Girls," will be shown in the Loew Theater before and after his speech.
His first feature-length documentary, "4 Little Girls" is about the 1963 bombings of a church in Birmingham, Ala., told from the perspectives of survivors, witnesses, defenders and prosecutors. It takes place on a Sunday morning in which four African-American girls were killed in the bombings.
-Other events for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations include:
-January 14, a concert by the Watts Prophets, a trio which performs a blend a blend of jazz, rap, chants and recitals.
-January 16, a viewing of an episode in the PBS children's series "Reading Rainbow" featuring the reading of "The Wonderful Towers of Watts."
-January 20, lecture by Charles Baquet, Peace Corps deputy director, called "Community Building and the Meaning of King's Legacy."
-January 22, lecture by Rebecca Adamson, founder and president of First Nations Development Institute, called "Building Community: Nationally and Internationally."
-January 24, sermon at Rollins Chapel by Reverend Dr. Charles Booth, pastor at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio.
-January 28, lecture by Helen Zia, former editor and current contributing editor of "Ms." magazine, called "Combating Anti-Asian Violence."
