Julian Bond to speak

Julian Bond, board chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People since 1998, will be the keynote speaker tonight at the Charleston chapter's annual Freedom Fund banquet.

The chapter will recognize community figures during the 7 p.m. dinner, which is expected to draw about 1,000 supporters to the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston.

Mignon Clyburn, a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission, will receive the Trailblazer Award; Rep. David Mack III, D-North Charleston, will be given the J. Arthur Brown Award for his work in the state; and two high school students will receive the Septima Poinsette Clark Award: Burke High School valedictorian Alora Singletary and West Ashley High School honors student Brian McCann.

A special recognition award for minority-owned businesses will go to Ascue's Paint and Body Shop, a family-run operation in Mount Pleasant.

Tickets for the banquet are $100 each. They can be purchased by calling 805-8030 or visiting the branch office at 93 Spring St.

Also today, Bond will visit with Charleston School of Law students at 5 p.m. to discuss his experiences in the civil rights movement and to encourage law students to do public service when they become attorneys.

The meeting at the law school is open to students from area schools and colleges but not to the general public because of space limitations.

Bond will meet with students in Room 333 of the AT&T Building at 385 Meeting St. For more information, contact the Office of Diversity Initiatives at 377-2429.