Hip-hop artist Common to honor King at North Central

Hip-hop artist Common will honor Martin Luther King Jr. in same the building where the civil rights leader spoke in 1960 at North Central College in Naperville.

Common will deliver a keynote address called “Greatness!” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, in Pfeiffer Hall at 310 E. Benton Ave. as part of the college's annual remembrance of King. He will host a question-and-answer session after the talk.

Called the “King of Conscious Hip-Hop,” Common has recorded nine albums, received four Grammy award nominations and two MTV Video Music Award nominations, appeared in movies with stars such as Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah, and written three children's books and a memoir.

He also has launched the Common Ground Foundation dedicated to empowering and developing urban youth.

Tickets to Common's keynote presentation go on sale Jan. 6 for $10 at (630) 637-7469 or northcentralcollege.edu/show.

His speech will highlight a remembrance program at the college that also will include musical tributes, a prayer breakfast and other activities during Martin Luther King Jr. Week and Black History Month.

The college will host a musical and multimedia performance at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. The Chicago Sinfonietta will play its “Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” featuring Nicole Cash on the horn and Elizabeth Norman singing soprano; the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir will perform and the multimedia presentation “Mountain Top” will be shown during the concert. Tickets are $10 for students and $40 or $50 for the public.

North Central's Schoenherr Gallery will display an exhibit called “The Chicago Freedom Movement Photography” by Bernard J. Kleina beginning Friday, Jan. 17, at the Fine Arts Center in Wentz Hall. Rare historic color photos and contemporary shots combine in the exhibit to paint a picture of King's visits to Chicago.