SOUTHEAST GEARS UP FOR KING'S BIRTHDAY

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be remembered at Southeast Missouri State University during several campus activities scheduled in January and February.

Highlighting the events will be the 13th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast on Jan. 19 at 8 a.m. in the Student Recreation Center, university officials said.

The featured speaker will be Dr. Hugh Scott, educator, administrator and author. Featured entertainment will include performances by the university and community choirs.

Admission will be $6.25 for the public, $3 for children, ages 6 to 12, free for children 5 and under, $3 for non-meal-plan students and free for students with a university meal plan.

Tickets won't be sold at the door but will be available in advance at the Southeast Bookstore in the University Center through Tuesday, and Jan. 5-9 and Jan. 12-16.

Scott, the keynote speaker, has been dean of programs in education at Hunter College of the City University of New York since 1975. Prior to this position, he was a professor of education at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where in 1970 Scott made history by becoming the District of Columbia's first black superintendent of schools.

He served as the chief of the District of Columbia's school system for three years from 1970 to 1973. Scott came to Washington from Detroit, where he served the public schools there in posts ranging from elementary social studies teacher to assistant superintendent.

Scott's book, "The Black School Superintendent: Messiah or Scapegoat?," was published in 1980 by the Howard University Press. It deals with the trials and triumphs of black superintendents in the nation's urban centers.

Other events in celebration of King's birthday are scheduled to begin in January and continue through February, which is Black History Month.

Following the breakfast Jan. 19, a "Dialogue on Diversity" presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Show Me Center meeting rooms. At 2 p.m., there will be a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gospel Celebration with performances by the Black Student Fellowship Mass Gospel Choir and students from area schools. This performance will be held in West Park Mall Center Court.

The 8th annual Community Celebration will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at St. James AME Church, 516 North St. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Art Contest will be held from Jan. 19-31. Students in Cape Girardeau elementary schools may participate in the annual art contest. Drawings will be displayed in the University Center Program Lounge.

From Jan. 26 to Feb. 6, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr./Black History Month Read-a-Thon will be held. Students in Cape Girardeau elementary schools in grades one to six may participate in the Read-a-Thon. For more information or to volunteer, contact Dr. Nola Radford at 651-2155.

A Common Hour presentation will be given at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 28 by the Black Repertory Theater in Academic Hall Auditorium. "I, Too, Sing America" presents the literature of black writers in this celebration of the written word. Selections are set to music, movement and other creative expressions, while telling a story of blacks' contributions to history. Some of the material comes from the works of distinguished authors, such as Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks and Nikki Giovanni.

Two theatrical performances will be held Jan. 29.

"Luther" tells the story of an antebellum slave who learned to read and write at prayer meetings. Curtis Tate, actor/storyteller, will perform this tale. The performances will be held in Glenn Auditorium in Robert A.Dempster Hall from 3:30-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A reception will be held in the University Center Ballroom at noon Jan. 30.

Events are scheduled to continue through February in celebration of Black History Month. Highlights include performances by the Katherine Dunham Dance Company; lectures and discussions and workshops by Ruby Streate, artistic director of the Katherine Dunham Museum, James Belk and Gerald Williams, master percussionists, and Katherine Dunham, a major modern dance choreographer with African and Caribbean influence.

There also will be two Common Hour programs with featured lectures by Gregory Freeman, columnist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and an open rehearsal by the Katherine Dunham Dance Company.