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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, January 9, 2008

IU's activities commemorating Martin Luther King to include presentation by Calvin Mackie

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 9, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy with activities, Jan. 18-21, including a speech on Jan. 20 by Calvin Mackie, an award-winning speaker, author and Hurricane Katrina survivor.

Other events will include a day of activities for elementary school children at the IU School of Education, an interfaith prayer service, a leadership breakfast and a unity summit. Programs and observances also will be held in university residence halls. With the exception of the breakfast, all IU events celebrating King's life are free and open to the public.

Classes are not held on the King holiday, and many IU Bloomington students will use the day to honor King's legacy by volunteering in the community. "A Day On, Not a Day Off" -- a massive volunteer effort organized in cooperation with a number of nonprofit agencies, IU and the City of Bloomington -- will be held all day on Jan. 21.

Other IU students and faculty will travel to Washington, D.C., Jan. 18-20, to visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House and the Metropolitan AME Church. They will meet with leaders there in a cross-cultural dialogue on current struggles and what King might do today to interrupt the cycle of oppression.

Mackie, IU's keynote speaker, is an internationally known motivational speaker, a successful entrepreneur and an associate professor of engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans. He will speak at 5 p.m. on Jan. 20 in the Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St.

After starting college with remedial reading courses, Mackie concurrently earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Morehouse College. He also holds a master's degree and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech.

Following graduation, Mackie joined the faculty at Tulane, where he currently pursues research related to heat transfer, fluid dynamics, energy efficiency and renewable energy. In 1992, he co-founded Channel ZerO, an educational and motivational consulting company, and has presented to numerous civic, educational institutions and Fortune 500 corporations.

Committed to community service, Mackie is an active member of the National Speakers Association, the 100 Black Men of Metro New Orleans, and the New Orleans Computer Access Program, a nonprofit organization that places computers in the homes of New Orleans Public School first-graders.

Mackie is one of 33 board members of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the guiding agency to lead the state's rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. He was featured prominently in Spike Lee's acclaimed documentary on HBO When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Parts. Mackie also has appeared on numerous news shows, such as the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer and the Tom Joyner Morning Show.

He is the author of the book, A View from the Roof: Lessons for Life and Business (Acanthus Publishing, 2005).

Other events centered around the holiday include:

• The City of Bloomington's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission annual celebration, Jan. 21, 7 p.m., at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. in downtown Bloomington. The community celebration will feature music by David Baker, IU distinguished professor of music, and performances by the IU African American Choral Ensemble, the IU Children's Choir and the female a capella group, Kaia. Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, IU President Michael McRobbie and Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington Chancellor John Whikehart will speak. A reception will precede the program at 5 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St. For more information, visit www.bloomington.in.gov/cfrd or call Craig Brenner at 812-349-3471.
• An interfaith prayer service will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 21 in Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union.
• A Unity Summit in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave., will take place on Jan. 21 from noon to 3 p.m. The event brings IU students together for a program that promotes civil dialogue and explores ways to improve the campus climate for all IU students.
• The IU Bloomington School of Education's Fifth Annual King Activity Day with Children will be Jan. 21 in the School of Education Atrium. Elementary-age students from the community will participate in a variety of educational activities from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., including math, art and music activities. For more information or to volunteer, contact Leana McClain at 812-856-8160 or lemcclai@indiana.edu.
• A "mini-fair" for elementary- and middle-school students will include activities focused on education, friendship, diversity, the teachings of Dr. King and the theme "a day on, not a day off." Tables will be hosted by student organizations from IU and Bloomington High School South. A multicultural "read-out" will feature IU student organizations presenting children's stories about diversity and Dr. King. The "read-out" aims to foster sensitivity to all peoples and ways of life. It will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bloomington High School South.

Complete information about all IU King Day events is available at a special Web site at https://www.indiana.edu/~mlkjr/.

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