Martin Luther King Jr.'s son will speak at SEMO

Human rights advocate Martin Luther King III, the elder son of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will speak at a dinner in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 24 to celebrate his father's legacy.

King will be the featured speaker at a Southeast Missouri State University dinner at the Show Me Center.

The theme for the celebration is "Experience the Next Generation, Experience a New Tradition."

The dinner replaces the Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast that the university has held annually in January to celebrate the civil rights movement, school officials said.

A community group will hold a memorial breakfast on the Martin Luther King holiday Jan. 16 at the Osage Community Centre.

University officials hope that hosting a dinner later in January will result in more participation by Southeast students.

In the past, the university has held an annual breakfast on the Martin Luther King holiday, which occurs before second-semester classes have started. As a result, few students have attended the event, said Kendra Skinner, assistant director of residence life at Southeast.

Neal Boyd, a tenor from Sikeston, Mo., will perform at the dinner. A Southeast graduate, Boyd is known for his many solo concerts, and operatic and theater performances.

Boyd has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Doors will open for the King dinner at 5 p.m. The program is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Tickets won't be sold at the door. They can be purchased at the university bookstore from Jan. 4 through Jan. 23.

King's most popular message is titled "The Dream Deferred," which is an examination of the goals of his late father in today's society.

King was elected the fourth president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1997. His father co-founded the civil rights organization.

Born in Montgomery, Ala., King is the second oldest of the four children of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

He received a bachelor's degree in political science from Morehouse College in Atlanta.