Marcus Center to Host 30th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, Jan 19

The 30th Annual DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, coordinated by the MLK Steering Committee, will be held on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The program will begin at 1:00 PM in Uihlein Hall and highlight our youth who interpreted Dr. King's works through art, speech and writing.

The only cities that have celebrated Dr. King's Birthday annually since 1984 are Atlanta, Georgia and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The theme for this year's program is "Non-Violence: The Most Potent Weapon" which was taken from, A testament of Hope, The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. The speech from which this theme was drawn was given in 1961 during Dr. King's fight for racial justice and acceptance.

This year, the program will feature keynote speaker, Dr. Joan M. Prince, Ambassador Emeritus and Alternate Representative of the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations and Vice Chancellor- The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Also, young people who are involved in the performing arts will also be highlighted as they salute Dr. King's legacy through music, dance and song. Some of the performing arts groups featured will be the Bear Clan Singers and Dancers, Punjabi Youth Club of Milwaukee, African Dance Group, Milwaukee Chinese Youth Orchestra, Latino Arts Mariachi Juvenile, and Aarabhi Indian School of Dance.

In honor of the 30th Anniversary, MPS 1994-95 youth scholarship winner, Milele A Coggs, will also speak as a King Honoree.

In addition, the United States Postal Service will unveil the 2013 Black Heritage Stamp.

The event concludes with the Paulette Y. Copeland Reception at 3:30 p.m. This reception is free and open to the public in Bradley Pavilion.

Dr. Joan M. Prince Bio: On September 12, 2012, Dr. Joan M. Prince was nominated by President Barack Obama to the key administrative post of Alternate Representative to the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations, with the honorary rank of Ambassador. This diplomatic position also maintains an appointment as a Senior Advisor to the State Department and Public Delegate. Her roles and responsibilities included serving as a United States representative to UN committees and related organizations such as ECOSOC, UN Women, UNESCO, and UNICEF, delivering statements on US policy, and engaging other diplomats and advisors in discussions focusing on global issues. She also served as a member of the 2013 United States Delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), appointed by Secretary John Kerry and Ambassador Susan E. Rice.

In her professional career, Dr. Prince serves as Vice Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, appointed in 2000. She is the chief administrator for the Divisions of Global Inclusion and Engagement and Partnerships and Innovation, with responsibilities as the Chief Inclusion Officer. She also leads campus-wide project areas such as the STEM Inspire Pipeline, the Inclusive Internationalization Project, Global Partnerships in STEM, Center for International Health, and Equity/Diversity Services.

Prior to this, Dr. Prince held responsibilities as the Project Director, lead strategist and implementer for the Health Professions Partnerships Initiative collaborative at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, as well as a Clinical Laboratory supervisor for a five hospital regional health care system in Milwaukee. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Prince was the first African American recipient of a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Technology and Masters in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, with a specialty in Hematology and Flow Cytometry from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She also holds a doctorate degree in Urban Education, with a specialty in Medical Science Education from UWM. She has been acknowledged as a 2007 Aspen Institute Fellow, a 2008 member of the International Jewish Council's Civic Leadership delegation to Israel, a fellow of the Millennium Leadership Institute Class of 2009 for higher education executives, and a 2012 Fellow of the American Council on Education. She is a former member of many civic boards, including her local leadership roles as a board trustee emeritus of The Greater Milwaukee Foundation and emeritus board chair of the Milwaukee Public Library Board. She is also President Emeritus of the global women's networking organization, Tempo International and board member emeritus of The Council on Foundations where she served as Governance Chair. She is currently the Immediate Past Board Chair of the Urban Libraries Council (www.ulc.org).

Prince is also a corporate board director of Managed Health Services, a subsidiary of the Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a director emeritus of C. G. Schmidt Construction Company, and a corporate director of Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation.

In recognition of her commitment to community service, Prince has received numerous awards from civic and professional organizations such as The Business Journal's Woman of Influence award, the Community Leadership award (Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund), and the Friends of the Hispanic Community award. She was featured as one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in Milwaukee in the February 2006 issue of Milwaukee Magazine, and is featured as an honoree in the national 2008 Black Women in Sisterhood Distinguished Black Women calendar. She is also spotlighted as an honoree in the national African American oral history archival project, The History Makers.

Dr. Prince is a Golden Life member and National Board Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, a member of The Links, Incorporated and The Girl Friends, Incorporated.

Admission to this event is open and free to the public. For more information, visit www.marcuscenter.org.

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