DePaul University will commemorate the 79th birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of activities and programs at its Loop and Lincoln Park campuses Jan. 21 and 24.

Events kick off with a ministerial examination of King’s work and spiritual life and a concert of gospel and R&B sounds at DePaul’s annual prayer breakfast Jan. 21 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave.

The Rev. Alice B. Greene, pastor of Irving Park Baptist Church, 4401 W. Irving Park Road., will deliver the keynote address titled, “The Heart of Peace Across Religious Traditions.” Greene holds a juris doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law; a master’s degree in divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry degree from Howard University.

At 9:30 a.m., Otis Clay, Grammy-nominated R&B and gospel singer, will headline an hourlong concert that includes DePaul students, alumni and staff.

Clay began his career as a gospel singer and made the jump to secular music in the mid-1960s. A longtime Chicago resident who was born in Mississippi, Clay has been hailed by critics as a raw soul balladeer with a Memphis sound. His gospel days began with the Sensational Nightingales, and his 1980s hit, “When the Gates Swing Open,” is a staple on gospel radio today. His latest R&B single release, “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” has been nominated for a 2007 Grammy in the category of Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.

The King prayer breakfast and concert are free and open to the public. Persons wishing to attend should call the Cultural Center at 773/325-7759 or confirm attendance via e-mail at culturalcenter@depaul.edu. After the breakfast and concert, guests are invited to tour the Cultural Center’s Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb exhibit, which features artifacts retrieved after the bombings of those cities. The center is located in Room 105 of the Student Center.

DePaul’s College of Law also will hold a King Day commemoration and explore the topic, “Election 2008: Is Race ‘Primary’?” in the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005.

The program opens with 10:30 a.m. showing of a segment of the documentary “Eyes on the Prize: Mississippi Is This America?” Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. and includes musical performances and the announcement of student essay contest winners. Sherilynn Ifill, a professor at the University of Maryland Law School, will deliver the keynote address at 12:15 p.m.

Ifill, a former assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, is a nationally recognized advocate in the areas of civil rights, voting rights, judicial diversity and judicial decision-making. She is the author of “On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century” (Beacon Books, 2007).

A panel of legal scholars will provide commentary on Ifill’s talk and the film screening at 1 p.m. The panelists are: Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, professor, Indiana University School of Law; Janai Nelson, professor, St. John’s University School of Law; and Terry Smith, professor, Fordham University School of Law.

All law school King Day programs are free and open to the public. To attend the luncheon, please RSVP by Jan. 16 to lawevents@depaul.edu or 312/362-5292. Vegetarian meals may be requested.

On Jan. 24, the Africa Diaspora Committee of DePaul’s School for New Learning will hold a symposium examining King’s life and work, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., 11th floor. Speakers are Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Steele, a DePaul alumnus and president of the Illinois Judges Association; Dr. Karen Taylor-Crawford, a child psychiatrist and assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine; and David Lemieux, a violent crimes detective and 26-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.

Steele sits in the domestic relations division of Cook County Circuit Court and has served on the bench in the traffic and juvenile sections. He will discuss protecting minors who are entangled in the criminal justice system. Taylor-Crawford, who is also the director of the UIC Disruptive Behavior Clinic at the Institute for Juvenile Research, will talk about social problems facing African-American children and ways to address them.

The symposium is free and open to the public.

Editors' Note: Digital images of some of the speakers are available upon request.