Julianne Malveaux, an economist, writer and syndicated columnist, will deliver the 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, in Freeborn Hall at the University of California, Davis. The activism in King's work will be the focus of Malveaux's speech. She said her theme will be based on her favorite quote from King, taken from his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize: "I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." "I find that audacity is lacking in today's society," Malveaux said. Malveaux's syndicated weekly newspaper column appears nationally. She also is a contributing writer at Essence Magazine, and regular contributor to Ms., USA Today and the San Francisco Sun Reporter. Her academic and popular writing also appears in other magazines, newspapers and journals. She provides regular radio and television commentary on sociopolitical issues, especially on CNN's Crier and Company, and as a talk show host on San Francisco radio station KGO. Malveaux's most recent scholarly assignment was as a visiting faculty member in UC Berkeley's African American Studies department. Her academic research focuses on the labor market, public policy and the effect of such policy on women and minorities. She co-edited the book "Slipping Through the Cracks: The Status of Black Women" (1986) and has completed a manuscript on the status of black women in the labor market. A resident of San Francisco, Malveaux also is an activist whose work in the community includes the drafting of citizen initiatives on the divestment of public funds from South Africa and an effort to keep local playgrounds open. She has served as president of the local Black Leadership Forum, the San Francisco Business and Professional Women's Club, and as a board member of the San Francisco NAACP. She currently is vice president of the National Child Labor -more 2-2-2 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Speech Committee and a board member of the Center for Policy Alternatives. Other experience includes work on the staff of the Council of Economic Advisors, the Rockefeller Foundation, the New School for Social Research, San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley. She has been affiliated with the Institute for the Study of Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University, and has done consulting for women's and civil rights organizations, including the National Organization for Women Legal Defense Fund and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. Malveaux's talk is sponsored by the UC Davis Law School's Black Law Student Association, Black History Month Committee and Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee.