A variety of social and cultural programs are slated to kick off NIU’s “Unity in Diversity” Week, which begins Sunday and runs through Oct. 1.

“Inner Circle,” a husband, wife, and sister-in-law gospel group, will perform Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Building’s Boutell Hall.

The trio consists of Carl Cole, a former member of NIU’s Black Choir, his wife Dianna and Bobbie Collins. Their concert will be co-sponsored by the Black Choir and the University Chorus.

NIU first set aside a special week to focus on racial and ethnic diversity last year as a response to several racial incidents and discriminatory acts at NIU and on campuses across the country.

Cole, who attended NIU from 1979 through 1983, said he was born in Freeport. His group’s new album, “Let it Shine,” was recorded in Rockford.

“Inner Circle” is only one of more than 50 events scheduled to help celebrate the week’s theme: “Unity in Diversity Begins with Understanding.”

Sharon Ainger of NIU’s student activities office is coordinating the week’s events. She said Clarence Shelley, assistant vice chancellor of student affairs at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, will deliver the keynote address of the week at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Holmes Student Center’s Heritage Room.

Shelley, who spoke at NIU’s conference on racism last February, will discuss “Creating an Environment that Appreciates Diversity” on Wednesday.

The Heritage Room also will be the site for a workshop entitled “Sexism in Advertising and Mass Media” to be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday. The main speaker for the workshop will be Lois Self, an NIU communications professor.

Self will lead a discussion of common sexist stereotypes in the media, and participants will view a film called “Still Killing Us Softly.”

“We will be talking about the images of women … and men which ads encourage. We will also deal with how ethnic minority women on TV are portrayed, and we will touch on the issue of pornography,” Self said.