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January 15, 2008

Civil rights roundtable tonight to mark MLK's birthday

PROVIDENCE -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day may not be until Monday, but the slain civil rights leader would have been 79 years old today.

To commemorate his birthday, a coalition of community groups from the state are meeting tonight for a civil rights round table where discussion will focus, not on the 1960s, but on civil rights issues facing Rhode Islanders today.

The executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, Keith Stokes, will be the keynote speaker. A descendant of Newport's early African-American and Jewish families, Stokes is set to speak about immigration in the context of the nation’s history.

State politicians, activists, lawyers, and law enforcement representatives will be on hand to talk about issues as wide ranging as rights for people with disabilities to racial profiling.

Representatives from the General Assembly, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Public Defenders Office and other groups will be on hand.

After the presentations comes the party. Gospel, jazz, food and drinks will close the event, set to begin at 5:30 this evening at the newly re-opened Providence Black Repertory Theater, 276 Westminster St. in Providence.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 12:17 PM | Permalink

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