The University's week-long celebration in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King continues today with a speech by Eleanor Holmes Norton, a well-known civil rights activist.

A professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, Norton is best known for her work regarding equal opportunity employment. She will speak today at

4 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium.

"I suspect she'll have a very good message and it'll be an enjoyable speech," said Aaron Singleton, University spokesman.

University Vice Provost, Grace Hampton said, "(Norton's) speech will grow out of her background and her experiences with the civil rights movement."

Norton was involved in the major reform movement within the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission operations and was helpful in reducing its large backlog of cases, said Adrienne Kuehneman, director of Public Relations at Georgetown University Law Center.

She has won praise for her work from the EEOC, civil rights groups and the public, Kuehneman said.

Kuehneman added Norton did extensive work with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the age of Discrimination in Employment Act and the Rehabilitation Act covering handicapped individuals.

In 1977, Norton was the first woman to chair the EEOC.

"She is a world authority on domestic and world affairs, including labor force, equal employment, and anti-discrimination issues," said Kuehneman.

Norton's experiences and accomplishments with civil rights issues resulted in her becoming an important media figure, Kuehneman added.

"She has addressed many of these issues on National Public Radio. She does a lot of speaking and has appeared on many news shows."

Norton has appeared on CNN, CBS and the MacNeil/Lehrer Report, Singleton said.

In addition, Norton has served on a extensive number of boards such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change, and three Fortune 500 companies, said Kuehneman.

Currently, Norton is writing a book about the development and impact of anti-discrimination law in an effort to inform the public about such issues, Kuehneman said.