`THE MEETING'

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X came from different backgrounds and held competing points of view, but in many ways they led parallel lives that put together provide a complete picture of the same struggle.

Both African American ministers -- King was Baptist, Malcolm X was Muslim -- became leaders in the civil rights movement during the '60s. Both believed passionately in their cause. And both were assassinated in their prime, three years apart.

"The Meeting," to be presented at 7 tonight at Academic Auditorium, is a "what-if" account of an encounter between the two men that never occurred.

The award-winning one-act play, staged by Pin Points Theatre of New London, Conn., and written by Jeff Stetson, is being presented as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration on the Southeast campus.

Set in a Harlem hotel room, "The Meeting" pits the two men in an ideological wrestling match over the best course of action for Black America.

King based his approach of nonviolence and civil disobedience on the teachings Gandhi. Malcolm X preached black separatism and "Freedom by any means necessary," which he equated with Patrick Henry's famous declaration: "Give me liberty or give me death."

The differences between the two men went far beyond ideas. King, the son of a Baptist preacher, grew up in a stable family environment. When Malcolm X was 6 his father was murdered. His permanent address eventually became the streets of New York.

King entered Morehouse College at 15 and received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston University. Malcolm X was a dropout at 15, and a few years later was sent to prison for armed robbery. He taught himself to read and write in prison by memorizing words from the dictionary.

Ersky Freeman appears as Malcolm X. Freeman, who also is a playwright and director, founded the educational Pin Points Theatre Company in 1975. Since then the company has staged a drama about Marian Anderson, King and Joe Louis; another about educator Anna J. Cooper; a play about black women involved in science and technology; a play about black contributions to science; and play/workshops about adolescent sexuality and the effects of drugs, among others.

The plays have been performed for more than 2,000 schools across the nation.

Mark Anderson, whose portrayals have ranged from Othello to Troy Maxon in august Wilson's "Fences," plays Rashad, Malcolm X's bodyguard.

Greenfair Moses III, known for his one-man play about King called "A Dream Deferred," plays King here as well.