Louisiana State Senator Cleo Fields will address the University community at 7 p.m. tonight in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on the past, present and future of the civil rights movement.

"Since there's been a lot of talk lately about affirmative action and the different Supreme Court rulings, a comparison between yesterday and today and an outlook to the future will be very good," said Liz Walker, chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Walker added that Fields is a charismatic speaker.

"I would put him in the same category as Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson," Walker said. "The man is moving. He's so strong in what he says."

She said the NAACP and the Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team invited Fields to speak after hearing a tape of one of his speeches.

"All the students were very, very receptive to him," Walker said.

"We felt it was a very inspiring and well-done speech," said Stephen Mitchell, president of SMART. "We thought he would be a very good speaker to have at Penn State as a part of the Martin Luther King celebration week."

Although Fields' message is positive, he also deals with national concerns such as drugs, teen-age pregnancy and education, Walker said. His speech will not be limited to civil rights issues, she added.

Walker said the racial climate at the University has prompted people to educate themselves, and a speaker like Fields offers a fresh perspective.

At 27, Fields is the youngest senator in the nation, and has been since his election at age 24 to the Louisiana State Senate.

"I think it will hit home especially to have someone so young who we can relate to," Walker said.

Walker said Fields is very much in demand as a speaker. With the help of a $1,500 donation from the Equal Opportunity Planning Committee, NAACP and SMART were able to schedule Fields.

A reception in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center will follow tonight's speech.