Feb. 20, 1997-Vol28n21: Activist, inner-city teacher, storyteller to appear in People's Speaker Series

Activist, inner-city teacher, storyteller to appear in People's Speaker Series

By MARY BETH SPINA
News Services Editor

Activist and entertainer Dick Gregory; east Los Angeles mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante, who inspired the movie "Stand and Deliver," and Native-American storyteller Gayle Ross have been scheduled for the People's Speaker Series at UB.

Sponsored by UB's Student Association, the programs, to be held on the North Campus, also will include a play based on a fictional meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Speakers and their schedules are:

· Jaime Escalante will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Friday Feb. 21, in the Katharine Cornell Theater. Escalante, a math teacher at Garfield High School in east L.A., developed programs for his inner-city students and encouraged them to excel. They became known for their skill in advanced math and their success earned them advanced college credits.

· Jeff Stetson's "The Meeting," a fictionalized discussion between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be performed at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the Center for the Arts Drama Theatre.

· Speaking at 8 p.m. on Feb. 25 in the Center for the Arts Drama Theatre will be Dick Gregory. A former high-school track star turned activist, he started in 1992 the "Campaign for Human Dignity" to fight crime in his native St. Louis. Well-known as a comedian and satirist in the 1960s, he became active in the civil rights and anti-war movements. He has been bringing wit and dedication to human rights causes here and abroad for decades.

· Native American storyteller Gayle Ross will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 in the Center for the Arts Drama Theatre. A direct descendent of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation during the infamous "Trail of Tears," she will tell the legends and myths of the native people of our continent.

Call 645-2950 for free ticket information. Program locations are handicap accessible. n