RADFORD -- Julian Bond, one of the most prominent leaders in the American Civil Rights Movement and current chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will join the Radford University community for a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The event, “The Road to the Dream,” will include a reception, a keynote address by Bond, and a candlelight march.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. reception in the lower lobby of Preston Hall. Bond (right) will speak at 7 p.m. in Bondurant Auditorium, Preston Hall. The candlelight march to the campus fountain follows. Admission is free and the public is encouraged and invited to attend.

“Julian Bond has dedicated a lifetime in service to humanity,” said Radford University President Penelope W. Kyle. “It is especially fitting that we welcome him to our campus as we encourage our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends to engage in acts of service to their communities as part of RU’s Centennial celebrations.”

As a student at Morehouse College in 1960, Bond was a founder of the Atlanta student sit-in and anti-segregation organization and of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC.

He was elected in 1965 to the Georgia House of Representatives, but was prevented from taking his seat by members of that chamber who objected to his opposition to the Vietnam War. He finally took his place in the Georgia House following a third re-election and a unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bond serves as chairman of the Premier Auto Group PAG (Volvo, Land Rover, Aston-Martin, and Jaguar) Diversity Council and is on the Boards of People for the American Way, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Council for a Livable World, and the advisory board of the Harvard Business School Initiative on Social Enterprise, among others.

He was a commentator on America's Black Forum, the oldest black-owned show in television syndication. His poetry and articles have appeared in numerous publications. He has narrated numerous documentaries, including the Academy Award winning "A Time for Justice" and the prize-winning and critically acclaimed series "Eyes on the Prize."

He has served since 1998 as chairman of the board of the NAACP, the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States.

In 2002, he received the prestigious National Freedom Award.

The holder of twenty-five honorary degrees, he is a Distinguished Professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and a Professor in history at the University of Virginia.

“The Road to the Dream” is sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Student Government Association, Diversity Awareness Programming, Men of Standards, the NAACP, Black Student Awareness Committee, Chi Upsilon Sigma, Campus Programming Committee and the Dean of Students office.

To learn more, call Radford University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion at (540) 831-5765 or email diverse@radford.edu.