By Natalie Smith
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Lindley Cultural Center will present the Washington D.C.-based educational theater group Pin Points Theatre in the award-winning play, "The Meeting." The performance, a fictional portrayal of an encounter between Dr. King and Malcolm X, will be held on Jan. 20 in the Baker University Center Ballroom. The performance begins at 7 p.m. and admission is free.
The fictional meeting takes place in a hotel room in Harlem less than a week before Malcolm was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965, and three years before King's killing. The play brings the two together and examines their clashing views on their fight for equality.
"I think the play will be an opportunity for people to see that there is more than one leadership style and many ways to achieve the same shared goal," said Angela Davis, assistant director for Lindley Cultural Center.
Malcolm was the product of childhood poverty and spent seven years in prison before converting to Islamic faith. He advocated self-defense and urged "freedom by any means necessary." King, on the other hand, was a Baptist minister who believed in non-violent strategies.
"While Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had very different tactics, they shared a common bond of humanity," Davis said.
Written by Jeff Stetson, "The Meeting" has received a Louis B. Mayer Award and eight 1987 NAACP Theatre Awards. It has been produced throughout the United States and Europe.
Natalie Smith is a student writer with University Communications and Marketing.
Related Links:
