DePaul University will mark the celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 19 with its annual prayer breakfast that includes a keynote speech by Barbara Ransby, noted author and associate professor of African-American studies and history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The breakfast will be held from 7:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. in the Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Room 120.

Ransby, considered to be one of the most promising public intellectuals in the country, has titled her lecture: “Strong People Don’t Need Strong Leaders: The Dual Legacies of Ella Jo Baker and Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Her book, “Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement,” published last year, is the first work to chronicle the life and legacy of a woman considered to be one of the most important African-American leaders of the 20th century and one of the most influential women in the civil rights movement. Baker worked behind the scenes of the movement and was a gifted grassroots organizer, national officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a principal in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Ransby also will be the keynote speaker at a King luncheon program sponsored by DePaul’s College of Law from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Computer Science Building, 243 S. Wabash Ave., in the Egan Urban Center, 9th floor.

Both the prayer breakfast and the luncheon are free and open to the public. Seating for the breakfast is limited and guests who plan to attend are encouraged to R.S.V.P. by Jan. 13 by calling 773/325-7759 or by emailing DePaul’s Cultural Center: culturalcenter@depaul.edu. Those planning to attend the luncheon should R.S.V.P. to Lawrence Arendt by Jan.13 via email: larendt@depaul.edu or by phone: 312/ 362-8450.

Ransby served as an instructor in the history department at DePaul from 1992 to 1996. In addition to the teaching position she has held at UIC for two years, she is the executive director of the Center for Public Intellectuals, a Chicago-based organization. She earned her doctoral degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1996.

The DePaul prayer breakfast is sponsored by the Cultural Center, which is headed by Harvette Grey. “The Martin Luther King, Jr., Prayer Breakfast brings the DePaul community and visitors together to celebrate an extraordinary individual,” said Grey. “It is very significant that Dr. King was an African American and that his birthday is the only holiday that recognizes the achievement of any African American.”