Two prominent black political leaders with starkly different ideologies will hold court at Alumni Arena tonight in this year's fifth Distinguished Speakers Series event.
UB will welcome National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Kweisi Mfume and former Congressman J.C. Watts as guest speakers for its 8 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Event.
According to Director of Special Events Bill Regan, the event offers students, faculty and community members an opportunity for discussion about civil rights issues facing Americans today, including affirmative action, racial profiling and race relation issues.
"These two men come from two different sides of the political aisle, and are both respected national leaders with equally divided constituents," said Regan.
Mfume is no stranger to political debate, according to the Office of Special Events website; he was elected to Congress in 1986 from Maryland and gave up his seat in 1996 to become the president of the NAACP.
J.C. Watts of Oklahoma was elected to Congress in 1994 as part of the "Republican Revolution."
A former star football player and an ordained minister, Watts served in Congress for eight years before retiring in 2002. In 1998, he was elected to chair the House Republican Conference, the fourth-highest position in the House of Representatives.
Regan said this particular installment of the distinguished speaker series is a way for students to get educated on the topics of civil rights.
"Students don't know as much as they could on these topics," Regan said.
The main idea of this event is to highlight "how this generation can solve these civil rights problems," Regan said.
Tickets for the event are free to students and are still available at the Student Association and Graduate Student Association offices.
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Event is coordinated by the Office of Special Events and the UB Minority and Faculty Staff Association.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
