Dr. Ozell Sutton To Speak At University Of Arkansas During Martin Luther King Jr. Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - As part of its weeklong celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the University of Arkansas will host a lecture by Dr. Ozell Sutton, a distinguished civil rights and human rights activist, who played a role in the desegregation of Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957.

The event will take place at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the UA Alltel Ballroom, located on the fifth floor of the Student Union. The lecture is free and open to the public.

A reception will follow Dr. Sutton’s lecture and be held in the Multicultural Center on the fourth floor of the UA Student Union.

"Dr. Sutton has deep Arkansas roots, and we are pleased that he has agreed to return to the state to join us in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's life," Chancellor John A. White said. "His experiences bring special insight into Arkansas’ civil rights history and will provide a valuable learning opportunity."

"This is a tremendous opportunity to hear from someone who has been closely involved with civil rights, Dr. King and that period in history," interim Director of the Multicultural Center Gigi Secuban said. "I think we will all benefit from Dr. Sutton’s message as we gather to remember Dr. King and what he has meant to our country."

Dr. Sutton was born in the small town of Gould, Ark., in 1925. His family later moved to Little Rock, Ark., where he graduated from Dunbar High School. He is a 1950 graduate of Philander Smith College in Little Rock with a degree in political science. In 1962, Dr. Sutton received an honorary doctorate from Philander Smith.

"Coming out of a small town like Gould, I had many obstacles to overcome," Dr. Sutton said. "The faculty at Philander Smith was very good to me, and I believe my experiences there helped mold many of my views and convictions that would later help me in my life."

Civil rights and human rights are Dr. Sutton's passions. He served as an escort with the Little Rock Nine when they entered Central High School in 1957. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington D.C. in 1963 and in Selma, Ala., in 1965. He was in Memphis when Dr. King was killed in 1968.

From 1968 to 1970, Dr. Sutton was special assistant to the late Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller of Arkansas. He has been field representative for Community Relations Service throughout the South, working as a mediator in some of the country’s most violent race-related crises.

Dr. Sutton has been the director of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations. He was relocation and rehabilitation supervisor for the Little Rock Housing Authority and a staff writer for the Arkansas Democrat newspaper.

Among his many affiliations, Sutton is the past national president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.; past president of the National Assault on Illiteracy; past co-chairperson of the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition; and a founder and member of the executive board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The U.S. Department of Justice gave Dr. Sutton its Distinguished Service Award in 1994 and has cited him three times for his management of crisis situations. He also has won the "Medallion of Freedom" from the NAACP.

Dr. Sutton recently retired as director of the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice in the Southeast region, a position he held since 1972. He now devotes his time to public speaking engagements.

"The people of Arkansas have been so kind to me, asking me to return and speak about such an important time in our history. Things have changed significantly through the years, but there is still so much to be done," Dr. Sutton said. "I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to return home and share these experiences I have been fortunate to be a part of. I look forward to sharing stories of the past, relating them to the present and looking forward to the future."

Parking for the lecture will be available in the UA parking deck, accessible from Stadium Drive, and in Lot 44 on the corner of Razorback Road and Maple Street..