BERRY TALK ENDS KING EVENTS

Entertainer Dr. Bertice Berry will speak in the Academic Auditorium at Southeast Missouri State University tonight at 7.

Her appearance will conclude the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration activities.

Berry has been an advocate for educating against racism and sexism.

Growing up poor in Wilmington, Del., the sixth of seven children, she was told by a high school teacher that she "was not college material." She chose to listen to the inner voice that had always told her that she was destined for more and applied to several schools.

She graduated magna cum laude from Jacksonville University in Florida and earned a doctorate in sociology from Kent State University, where she taught sociology and statistics.

Berry is an author, talk-show host, entertainer, author, singer, performer and comedienne. She has created a niche as a speaker with a comic edge and a comic with a serious message.

Admission to the lecture is $5 for the public and free for university faculty, staff and students with a Southeast I.D. Tickets will be available at the door.