Commemorating the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund, will speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17 at Portland State University in the Lincoln Performance Hall, room 175, 1620 S.W. Park Ave. Edelman's organizations is one of the premier groups advocating for children and families in America. She has directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Defense Fund and worked as counsel for the Poor People's Campaign, a project King began organizing shortly before his death. She is the recipient of over one hundred honorary degrees and received the 2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The event will also feature a performance by the Highland Choir and the PSU Dancers. Tickets are available for $10 to the general public or free with a student ID at the PSU Ticket Office, room 102, 1825 S.W. Broadway Ave. or through Ticketmaster.
Other free PSU Martin Luther King Jr. Events include:
Interactive student session: noon, Thursday, Jan. 17, at Smith Memorial Student Union, room 228;
"New Home Movies from the Lower 9th Ward" a screening of Jonathan Demme's new documentary.
The film consists of five short "portrait" documentaries filmed in New Orleans from 2006 through Jan. 2007. The films chart the efforts of a disparate group of New Orleanians who attempt to reclaim their homes, their neighborhoods — primarily in the Lower 9th Ward — and their shattered lives and livelihoods. The residents include teachers, ministers, a retired chef and the owner of the legendary "Mother-In-Law Lounge."
7 p.m., Jan. 18-19, at 5th Avenue Cinema, 510 S.W. Hall St. Admission is free and open to the public. Donations to the Oregon Food Bank accepted at the door
A DAY-ON of community service
Participants will meet on campus at the Hoffman Hall lobby, 1833 S.W. 11th Ave.
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 21
