VSU celebrates King's Birthday

Valdosta State University will hold a program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7:45 p.m. in Pound Hall Auditorium.

The theme is ?Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On, Not a Day Off!? Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Georgia's Labor Commissioner, is the program's quest speaker.

Commissioner Thurmond was the first African-American to be elected as the Commissioner of Labor. He was also the first African-American to be elected as a Georgia General Assembly representative from Athens, Ga. in 1986 since the Reconstruction.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Program, sponsored by VSU's Equal Opportunity Programs and Multicultural Affairs, also includes a performance by VSU's mass choir, poetry readings, and special presentations. It is open to the public and the cost is free.

?The purpose of the program is to celebrate King's life and is an effort to unify the campus and surrounding communities,? said Dr. Beverly Blake, Assistant Director of Equal Opportunity Programs and Multicultural Affairs.