Bernice A. King will accept Spirit of Lincoln Award on behalf of her parents
SPRINGFIELD - Bernice A. King, the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, will be the featured speaker at the annual Abraham Lincoln Association Symposium Banquet on Friday, February 12 in Springfield. Ms. King will accept the Association's Spirit of Lincoln Award on behalf of her parents and will speak on the topic, "Lincoln, King and the Civil Rights Movement."
The banquet, held to observe the 207th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, will be held at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in downtown Springfield. A reception starts at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $85 each and can be obtained online at www.abrahamlincolnassociation.
Bernice A. King is the Chief Executive Officer of The King Center, which was founded by her mother in 1968. Born the youngest daughter of the late Coretta Scott King and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bernice began her oratorical journey when she spoke in her mother's stead at the United Nations at age 17. On January 30, 2007, the first anniversary of her mother's death, Bernice returned to her alma mater at Spelman College to announce the establishment of the "Be A King Scholarship in honor of Coretta Scott King." This came about after she served as a law clerk in the Fulton County, Georgia Juvenile Court system, where Bernice perceived that a growing number of teens have been victims of society and of an ineffective legal system based on retribution instead of rehabilitation.
Bernice spearheaded the Washington, D.C. commemoration on August 28, 2013, the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and her father's famous "I Have A Dream" speech. She founded Be A King, whose mission is to re-brand and re-image generations of people to elevate the way they Think, Act, Live, and Lead. Bernice received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Advocate Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. She has written Hard Questions, Heart Answers: Speeches and Sermons.
The banquet is one of many activities scheduled each year to commemorate Lincoln's birthday. The annual Abraham Lincoln Association-Benjamin Thomas Symposium begins Thursday, February 11 at 7 p.m. in the Old State Capitol Hall of Representatives with a free presentation by author and Lincoln historian Douglas L. Wilson on "Herndon in His Own Voice."
The Symposium, which is free and open to the public, continues Friday, February 12 with the George L. Painter Looking for Lincoln Lecture from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Lincoln Home Visitor Center featuring "Lincoln and Mormon Country" presented by Bryon C. Andreasen. "Lincoln, Immigrants, and the Atlantic World" will be presented at 11 a.m. by Jason Silverman and Louise Stevenson in the Old State Capitol's Hall of Respresentatives.
The Thomas F. Schwartz Symposium luncheon, which begins at 1 p.m. Friday, February 12 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, features speaker Thomas L. Carson, author of Lincoln's Ethics, who will present "Lincoln as a Moral Exemplar." The luncheon is $30 per person and reservations can be made online at www.abrahamlincolnassociation.
The Symposium resumes with a free roundtable discussion, moderated by historian Michael Burlingame, featuring all of the Symposium presenters. The discussion will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
The Symposium Banquet featuring Bernice King ends the two days of activities.
The Abraham Lincoln Association Symposium is co-sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, The University of Illinois Springfield, The Old State Capitol State Historic Site and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. For more information about the Abraham Lincoln Association, visit www.abrahamlincolnassociation.
