Purdue News

January 7, 2000 Civil rights leader to present King speech WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a leader in the civil rights movement and a retired member of Congress, will speak at Purdue University in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. His presentation will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The free lecture is sponsored by the Black Cultural Center and the Office of the Vice President of Human Relations. In 1961, Fauntroy was appointed by King to be director of the Washington bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1963, he served as the District of Columbia coordinator of the historic march on Washington, and he was coordinator of the Selma-to-Montgomery march of 1965. On April 19, 1971, Fauntroy became the District of Columbia's first elected representative in the United States Congress in nearly a century. He served 10 consecutive terms, retiring in 1991. During the 97th Congress (1981-1983) he was elected chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. He also co-sponsored anti-drug bills as a member of the House Select Committee on Narcotics and was involved in efforts to end minority rule in South Africa and to restore human rights and promote economic development in Haiti. Fauntroy was chairman of the District of Columbia Committee's Subcommittee on Fiscal Affairs and Health. He also was a member of the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs and was chairman of its Subcommittee on International Development Institutions and Finance. CONTACT: Renee Thomas, BCC director, (765) 494-3092; rathomas@hfs.purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page