DURHAM, N.H- On Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, the University of New Hampshire will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech with a reading of the text by UNH students, staff and faculty. The event is free and open to the public.

People are encouraged to gather at the Memorial Union Building's information desk at 2 p.m. to march as a group to the Great Hall Lawn (in front of Thompson Hall). Brief remarks from professor Bruce Mallory and community members will commence at 2:30 p.m. followed by the reading of the "I Have a Dream" speech by students, staff and faculty.

The event is part of a worldwide effort to celebrate the civil rights leader's vision, in the spirit of what King called "the fierce urgency of now," from the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

The event is sponsored by UNH's Discovery Program, Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, Race and Ethnic Studies, Women's Studies, and the Office of Inclusive Excellence.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

-30-