NPR correspondent will highlight Grand Valley's MLK celebration

An author, veteran radio correspondent and TV political analyst will highlight Grand Valley's celebration of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Juan Williams, NPR senior correspondent and political analyst for FOX News, will be the keynote speaker during the King celebration program, scheduled for January 19 at 2:15 p.m. at the Fieldhouse Arena on Grand Valley's Allendale Campus. President Thomas J. Haas will also speak, and the Voices of GVSU gospel choir will perform.

Williams, Haas and others will lead a silent march to the Fieldhouse. The campus community is invited to join them at Zumberge Library for the start of the march at 1:45 p.m.

Bobby Springer, associate director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said Williams will discuss voting rights, the 2008 election and what it means for the country. Williams will give an expanded version of his speech later that evening at Grand Rapids Community College, and community members will perform a play, "Voting Rights: Changing the Nation, the Power of Unity."

Williams is considered one of the country's leading political writers. He hosted NPR's "Talk of the Nation" from 2000-01 and now appears regularly on "Morning Edition" and "Day to Day." He is a regular panelist on "FOX News Sunday" in addition to other news programs. Williams also had a successful 21-year career at the Washington Post as White House correspondent, columnist and editorial writer.

His sixth book, Enough, was published in 2007 and criticizes America's black leaders and current African American culture. Publishers Weekly said Williams continues the conversation started by Bill Cosby in 2004 when he targeted blacks who don't take responsibility for their own economic status.

Other community events to celebrate Martin Luther King Day are as follows:

• Sunday, January 18, 6:30 p.m.: MLK Celebration Service, Lighthouse Full Life Center, 640 Burton St. SE in Grand Rapids.

• Monday, January 19, noon: Community Peace March, Grand Rapids Community College Ford Fieldhouse, followed by program with performances from area public school students and GRCC students.

• Monday, January 19, 6:30 p.m.: 23rd Annual MLK Celebration, GRCC Ford Fieldhouse.

The day's events are sponsored by Grand Valley and GRCC. For more information, contact Grand Valley's Office of Multicultural Affairs at (616) 331-2177.