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Dr. Maya Angelou To Deliver 29th Annual MLK Commemoration at ASU Tonight at 7 p.m.

Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou | Photo by Dwight Carter

Jan. 22, 2012. ASU’s Performing Arts Series is co-sponsoring the Office of Multicultural Student Development event, An Evening with Maya Angelou: The 29th Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration.

The event takes place on Tuesday, January 22, at 7 p.m. at the Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State University. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the event is free with general admission seating.
 
For questions about the event, please call the Office of Multicultural Student Development at (828) 262-6157or visit www.multicultural.appstate.edu.  Information about seating, directions, parking and ADA accessibility can be found at www.theholmescenter.com or by calling (828) 262-6603.
 
For a complete overview of the Performing Arts Series spring line-up, visit www.pas.appstate.edu.
 
About the Event
Dr. Maya Angelou will center her speech on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the legacy of Dr. King.
 
In addition to Dr. Angelou’s remarks there will performances by the ASU Gospel Choir with special guests from the Hayes School of Music and a special presentation by the sisters of the Omicron Kappa Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The University Bookstore will be selling Dr. Angelou’s works before and after the event. 
 
Gus Peña, director of Multicultural Student Development says, “Now in its 29th year, the MLK Commemoration has grown from a modest gathering in the Rosen Concert Hall with the Gospel Choir and a guest speaker to an annual point of pride for Appalachian that draws thousands to hear from civil rights leaders and activists like Reverend Joseph Lowery, Reverend, C.T. Vivian, Dr. Nikki Giovanni and Dr. Angela Davis. Bringing Maya Angelou to Appalachian represents our most ambitious attempt yet to extend and deepen awareness and understanding of the civil rights movement and legacy of Dr. King to our students and community.  She possesses the rare ability to speak poetically and directly to people of every generation and background.”   
 
About Dr. Maya Angelou
Dr. Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary black literature.
 
She captivates her audiences lyrically with vigor, fire and perception and has the unique ability to shatter the opaque prisms of race and class between reader and subject throughout her books of poetry and her autobiographies. She has authored 12 best selling books and numerous magazine articles earning her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations.
 
In 1993, Angelou became the second poet in US History to have the honor of writing and reciting original work at the Presidential Inauguration. On the Pulse of Morning, at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration, was an occasion that gave her wide recognition for which she was awarded a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word.
 
Dr. Angelou was among the first African-American women to hit the bestsellers lists with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a chronicle of her life up to age sixteen.  To read her complete bio, visit http://multicultural.appstate.edu/events-programs/mlk-commemoration.
 
Upcoming Performing Arts Series Events
  • New York Polyphony: Friday, February 8
  •  Walnut Street Theatre presents Around the World in 80 Days by Mark Brown/Adapted from the novel by Jules Verne Wednesday, February 20
  • An Evening with Garrison Keillor and Musical Guests Tuesday, April 16
The 2012-13 Performing Arts Series is sponsored by:
           
Corporate Sponsors
Media Sponsors