Senator Barack Obama to speak at University of Chicago Hospitals' celebration of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 14, 2002

The University of Chicago Hospitals will celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday with the announcement of the winner of the 26th annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian Award at its ceremony to be held from 12 to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16, in room P-117 at the Hospitals, 5839 S. Maryland Ave.

The award has been presented each year since 1976 to the Hospitals employee who best exemplifies King's commitment to fellowship, peace and justice through their commitment to excellence in the workplace and community.

The keynote speaker this year will be Barack Obama, State Sen. (Illinois,). In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the 13th legislative district. He currently serves as Democratic spokesperson for the Public Health and Welfare Committee and co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. He also serves on the Judiciary and Revenue committees.

A Senior Lecturer in the University of Chicago Law School, Obama earned his law degree at Harvard University, where he served as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. During the 1980s, Obama directed community-organizing projects in low-income communities in New York and Chicago.

In 1992, he headed Illinois Project VOTE!, a statewide campaign to increase voter registration and turnout in poor and minority communities. Obama's memoir, Dreams From My Father, was published by Times Books in 1995.