James Earl Jones comes to IU

It's not every day people get to hear the voice that launches every CNN broadcast, narrates Verizon Wireless commercials and beckons Luke Skywalker to follow its lead. IU students will get that chance Tuesday night when James Earl Jones speaks at the IU Auditorium. The award-winning screen and stage actor will speak at 7 p.m.\nJones is speaking as part of IU's celebration of Black History Month. He will be speaking for about one hour and then will take questions from the audience before signing copies of his new autobiography, "Voices and Silences." \nJones said he hopes to field as many questions from the audience as possible. \n"I think students have better questions than grown-ups do," Jones said. "You're coming at the issues less spoiled."\nJones is noted for his acting both on stage and on screen. He has won several Tony and Obie Awards for his performances. On screen, Jones has lent his talents to famous characters like Darth Vader, Terence Mann and "Roots" author Alex Haley. Jones has also acted in several plays, including the absurdist drama "The Blacks," his first major role. Jones also wrote a book about Othello, a character he played several times.\nThe Union Board planned for several months to bring Jones to speak at IU, said Lecture Committee Director Amanda Prager. The Board schedules lectures every year for Black History Month and wanted to bring in a person with great fame and impact this year.\n"James Earl Jones is such a great speaker that he will get a lot of students out to hear what he has to say," Prager said. "We thought that he would be an educational speaker."\nThe Union Board began brainstorming possible speakers for Black History Month in the early fall. It settled on Jones and contacted the Greater Talent Network, a bureau they work with to recruit speakers for events. Together, the two organizations worked to bring the renowned actor to IU.\nJones said he plans to speak about the impact of Martin Luther King Jr., in particular King's love of reading and his legacy. He said he hopes to pose questions about what society has done with that legacy and whether it has truly continued the work King started. \n"We haven't begun to understand what the problem was, what racism was about," Jones said. "I think that's what (King) was about, dealing with it and healing it."\nJones said he also hopes to speak about labels he believes remain prevalent in today's society. He said he believes too many people try to characterize race according to pop culture; to Jones, such definitions cannot truly be identified.\n"There is no way to define what a black person is, but we keep doing it," Jones said. "You cannot define a people"