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This content was published: January 10, 2001. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

Media Advisory: Speaker, Gospel Choir to Highlight PCC's MLK Celebration

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PORTLAND – Debbie Whooten, a motivational speaker who has overcome great adversity in her life, will be the featured entertainment for Portland Community College’s celebration of the Martin Luther King Holiday. She will speak between 11 a.m. and noon on Wednesday, Jan. 17 in room 122 of Terrell Hall on the Cascade Campus, located at 705 N. Killingsworth St. Also, she’ll appear at 1 p.m. on Wednesday in room 107 of the ST Building at the Sylvania Campus, located at 12000 S.W. 49th Ave. Whooten will appear at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18 in the Women’s Resource Center at the Rock Creek Campus, located at 17705 N.W. Springville Road.Whooten grew up in the tough Chicago projects and was able to meet Martin Luther King at the age of 8 at a civil rights rally. After surviving polio and spina bifeda, she worked her way off of public assistance to help feed her five children and now works as a successful comedian, opening for such acts as the nationally recognized comic Sinbad. Also at the Cascade Campus, the Jefferson Gospel Choir will kick-off the celebration by performing at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 10 in the cafeteria of the Student Center. For more information about any of these events, contact Kendi Esary, student leadership coordinator at the Cascade Campus, at 503-978-5781; or Mandy Ellertson, student leadership coordinator at the Rock Creek Campus, at 503-614-7261.

About James Hill

James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »