TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Dr. William Darity will speak on “Racial and Ethnic Economic Inequality: Why Culture is Irrelevant” at 7 p.m., Feb. 28, for the President’s Colloquium in Stinson Auditorium at Stillman College as part of the 2002 Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series.

Darity is a Cary C. Boshamer chair of economics at the University of North Carolina and a research professor of public policy studies, African American studies, and economics at Duke University.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series, now in its third year, is a significant addition to the celebration of and dedication to the ideals of the man whose life and legacy is honored today. The series attracts well-known civil rights advocates to the Tuscaloosa community to discuss the past and future of civil rights in America. The series is a joint effort between The University of Alabama, Stillman College and Shelton State Community College.

With appearances alternating between the campuses of Stillman College and UA, the series to date also has included Dr. James D. Anderson, Dr. Linda Reed, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Bernice Johnson Reagon and the Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.

Other spring 2002 speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.