Legendary Civil Rights Leader Samuel Kyles To Visit Georgia Southern

February 25, 2009

Civil rights pioneer Rev. Samuel Kyles will speak at Georgia Southern University’s Performing Arts Center at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2009.? The event is free and open to the public.

Rev. Kyles’ involvement with civil rights goes back more than forty years.? In 1968, Kyles was instrumental in bringing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis, Tenn. to support striking sanitation workers.? Kyles and King met on April 4, 1968 in King’s Memphis hotel room as King prepared to go to dinner at the Kyles family home.? King was assassinated moments later, making Kyles the only person still living who spent the last hour of Kings life with him.

After King’s death, Kyles continued his civil rights work.? Kyles is a founding member of the National Board of People to Save Humanity, and worked on Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988.? President Bill Clinton appointed Kyles to serve on the Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad.? Kyles has appeared in several documentaries about the life and assassination of Dr. King and travels the country speaking to audiences about King’s message.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers 116 degree programs serving nearly 18,000 students.?Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education.?Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.