UPDATE: The MLK Commemorative Address will be held on Monday, February 29, at 6 p.m. in the Alumni and Advancement Center.
The speech will be livestreamed at www.rochester.edu/news/live/
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UPDATE (1/21/16): East Coast snowstorm postpones University of Rochester’s MLK Commemorative Address
The University of Rochester’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Address has been postponed due to the storm expected to hit the East Coast this weekend.
Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, was scheduled to speak on Saturday.
“There is concern with the inclement weather that it may be difficult for him to get here,” said Norman Burnett, assistant dean and director of the Office of Minority Student Affairs.
Burnett said he hopes to reschedule Morial’s appearance for sometime in February.
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Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, will deliver the University of Rochester’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Address on Saturday, January 23.
Morial has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony magazine. He will speak at 6 p.m. at Strong Auditorium on the River Campus, then take questions from the audience until 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Free parking is available along Wilson Boulevard.
The event is co-sponsored by the Office of Minority Student Affairs and the Office of the President.
Morial has been president of the National Urban League, one of the nation’s oldest civil rights organizations, since 2003. During that time, he oversaw a five-year, $280 million fundraising effort and in 2013 launched an historic $100 million, five-year “Jobs Rebuild America: Educate, Employ, Empower” initiative.
He was elected Mayor of New Orleans in 1994 with a promise to “clean out City Hall with a shovel not a broom.” In eight years in office, his approval rating stayed at or near 70 percent and near 100 percent at all times among black residents.
“We are honored to have Marc Morial serve as our Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address speaker this year,” said Norman Burnett, dean and director of the Office of Minority Student Affairs. “The National Urban League and its local affiliates continue to provide our country with strong leadership around racial equality as it relates to economics, social justice, health, and civil engagement – all areas that resonate with our politically astute student community.”
Anyone who plans to attend Morial’s speech and needs special accommodations should contact the Office of Minority Student Affairs at (585) 275-0651 at least five days in advance of the event.
Morial’s speech will be streamed live on the University’s website at http://www.rochester.edu/news/live/
