HU Honors Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hampton, VA - This year Hampton University will host several events to commemorate the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. All events are free and open to the public.

The Hampton University Museum will host a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration on Saturday, Jan. 19 from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Hampton chapter of the National Hampton Alumni Association and the John Biggers Circle, the event will pay tribute to King and note how his actions aided all minorities towards making monumental strides in racial equality. The Rev. Dr. Timothy T. Boddie, university chaplain, will serve as the keynote speaker, recalling his personal relationship with the King family.

Members of the Gamma Iota chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. will honor their fraternity brother the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. with the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Annual March, beginning at the Emancipation Oak near the School of Pharmacy parking lot and concluding at the front steps of Ogden Hall.

In addition, the HU Department of Music and the HU Choirs present the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Concert: Music by African American Composers on Monday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Hampton University's Ogden Hall.

The concert will showcase choral music by African-American composers and arrangers as performed by the HU Concert Choir, faculty and community guests. Maestro Royzell L. Dillard will conduct the HU Concert Choir, which is the primary touring ensemble for the university. Soprano Lorraine McFadden Bell, assistant professor of music, will perform the epic work "For My People" by Dr. Eurydice Ostermann. The event will also feature guest performances by Woodside High School Meistersingers under the direction of Jason Dungee and the St. Augustine College Concert Choir under the baton of maestro Eric Poole.

For additional information regarding the HU Museum celebration, please call (757) 727-5308. For information on the choral performance, please call (757) 727-5603 or email royzell.dillard@hamptonu.edu.