Indiana State University Newsroom

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X will soon come face to face at Indiana State University.

The two legendary civil rights leaders met just once during their lives, for a fleeting moment following a news conference in 1964. But on Feb. 20 at 8 p.m., a national touring company will turn University Hall Theater into a Harlem, N.Y. hotel room for "The Meeting," a fictional account of a spirited debate between the two men who followed much different approaches in their struggle to achieve racial equality.

Each was slain by an assassin, Malcolm X in New York City in 1965 and King in Memphis in 1968.

'The Meeting" is a powerful performance that frames the issues and challenges associated with civil rights and has implications for the issues of today, said Joshua Powers, special assistant to the provost for academic initiatives and co-chair of the Diversity Council at Indiana State.

Sponsors include the Terre Haute Human Relations Commission and, at Indiana State, the Office of Academic Affairs, Student Government Association, Office of Diversity, African-American Cultural Center, department of educational leadership, and the theater department.

The event is free and open to the public.

Media contact: Dave Taylor, media relations director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu