DePaul University will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a prayer breakfast featuring Elaine Brown, the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party.

The program, titled “Fierce Angels: Women in the Civil Rights Movement,” will take place Jan.17 at 8:30 a.m. at the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Room 120AB, Chicago.

Brown, who in 1974 assumed leadership of the Black Panthers, a leading political activist organization of the 1960s and 1970s, continues to work as an activist and writer, promoting an inclusive and egalitarian society focused on resolving problems of race, gender oppression and class disparity in the United States.

This program is free and open to the public, although advance registration is required at (773) 325-7559 or culturalcenter@depaul.edu.

Brown also will present a public talk “In Defense of Our Boys” at 6 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 1010 W. Webster Ave., Chicago.

Also on that day, DePaul’s College of Law will present its 13th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration and luncheon titled “All the Beloved Community: Embracing Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Issues as Central to the Struggle.”

The program will include a 10 a.m. screening of “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin,” a documentary about one of King’s key advisors who later battled anti-gay discrimination. The screening will be followed by keynote addresses by Darren Hutchinson, professor of law at American University, on “Racial Justice and LGBT Rights Are Both Part of the Dream” at 11:50 a.m. and Russell Robinson, professor of law at the University of California Los Angeles, on “Where is My Martin Luther Queen?: The Racial Contours of Gay Identity” at 12:30 p.m.  A 1:10 p.m. discussion panel will follow.

This program will take place at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, Chicago and is free and open to the public. To participate in a free buffet lunch at 11:25 a.m., please e-mail lawevents@depaul.edu.