Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 2/14/00
      Contact:                           Carol Dotson   92

YOLANDA KING TO SPEAK AT SOUTHEASTERN FEBRUARY 29
     HAMMOND -- Activist, actress, and writer Yolanda King, eldest daughter of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., will speak at Southeastern Louisiana University at 7 p.m., February 29 at the
University Center. 
     Admission to the King lecture is $5 for the general public and free to Southeastern
students, faculty and staff. Tickets are available at the door. 
     King, who has been in the midst of the struggle for human rights all of her life, has
participated in numerous civil and human rights demonstrations and is active on the national and
international lecture circuit.
     She received a bachelor's degree. with honors in theatre and African-American studies
from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and an master's degree in theatre at New York
University. 
     King is committed to using her talents to affect social and personal change through the
arts. She has combined her involvement with human rights organizations and causes with her
artistic pursuits.  She explains, "While it is imperative to actively challenge the forces that deny
human beings their right to a decent life... one must also stimulate and alter the hearts and minds
of both the privileged as well as those who have been too long denied. Within the arts lies this
power."
     King was a founding member of Christian Theatre Artists and for ten years served as co-
founding director of NUCLEUS with Atallah Shabazz, the eldest child of Malcom X and Dr.
Betty Shabazz. In 1990, she formed Higher Ground Productions. Its first project was "Tracks," a
multimedia theatrical production celebrating the philosophy of Dr. King. King starred in the
production which toured the country for four years. Other Higher Ground Productions include,
"Tripin," "A Journey Home," "Soul Survivor" and its most recent project, "Achieving the
Dream," which premiered during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and is slated for a national tour. 
                                             -more-

Yolanda King/ADD ONE

     Many of King's stage and movie roles reflect her interest in social change and include
portrayals of Rosa Parks in the NBC-TV movie "King" with Paul Winfield and Howard Rollins;
of Dr. Betty Shabazz in the film, "Death of a Prophet" with Morgan Freeman; and of Rena Evers
in the Golden Glob nominated film, "Ghosts of Mississippi," the Rob Reiner production with
Whoppi Goldberg and Alec Baldwin about civil rights activist Medgar Evers. She also appeared
in the 1996 HBO special, "America's Dream." 
     In 1995 and 1996, King served as a visiting professor in the theatre department at
Fordham University in New York. 
      Her publications include "Using Television to Teach Nonviolence" in the "Teacher's
Guide to Television," and a column for "Black Family Magazine." 
     She has been honored with numerous presentations, awards and citations by organizations
around the country. She serves on the board of directors for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center
for Nonviolent Social Change Inc., and is founding director of the King Center's Cultural Affairs
Program. She is a lifetime member of the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Habitat for Humanity
and the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. 
     For more information contact Multicultural Affairs at 549-3850.



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