The Illinois State Comptroller Roland Burris will be the key speaker at the annual NIU memorial service for Martin Luther King Jr. at 8:45 tonight in the Music Building’s Boutell Memorial Concert Hall.

The Student Association Minority Relations Committee is presenting a program funded by the Campus Activities Board, “How the Dream Lives in Us All.”

SA Vice President Cam Davis said the service will cover King’s contributions to the Civil Rights movement, as well as how they affect individuals today.

Larry Robertson, SA minority relations adviser, said, “Mr. Burris will be speaking on how Dr. King started paving the way for, not just blacks, but all minorities in America.”

Burris will tell students how their activities at NIU and in the “real world” can continue the dream, Robertson said.

Burris has been the state’s chief fiscal officer since 1978 and is vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He also has served as president of the National State Comptroller’s Association.

Davis said Burris was an appropriate choice for this year’s key speaker because he was the first black state-wide elected official.

Past speakers for NIU’s memorial include Chicago commentator Lou Palmer and King’s oldest daughter Yolanda King.

Burris has been included as one of Ebony magazine’s “nation’s 100 most influential black Americans” since 1979.