IUPUI King Dinner to Present Poet and Activist Nikki Giovanni

World-renown poet, author and activist Nikki Giovanni will deliver the keynote address at one of the city's premier events honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Black Student Union at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) will present Giovanni as guest speaker at the 38th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner at 6 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008, in the Cosmopolitan Room of the Downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel.

In addition to the keynote address, the annual MLK Dinner features student performances, and awards for campus and community leaders. This year's theme is "Living the Legacy."

Giovanni, a distinguished professor of English at Virginia Tech, delivered her passionate and inspiring "We are Virginia Tech" speech during the Virginia Tech convocation held in memory of the 27 students and five faculty members killed in the shootings at the university on April 17, 2007.

Giovanni's writings include the introduction to "In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," the companion book to the 2002 Smithsonian traveling exhibition that celebrated King's life and work through the visual arts.

The keynote speaker is also the author of more than two dozen books, including The New York Times Best-seller "Rosa," a children's book about Rosa Parks.

Tickets for the dinner, on sale now, are $25 each for IUPUI undergraduate students and $40 for all others. Tickets are available at the IUPUI Office of Campus and Community Life, Room 002 on the lower level of the University College building, 815 W. Michigan St. For tickets, call (317) 274-3931.

Full and half-table sponsorship packages are also available. For additional information about sponsorship packages, call (317) 278-2161 or e-mail noglesby@iupui.edu.