POP/ROCK - June 1, 1987

Soul specialist Luther Vandross has joined the growing list of black entertainers refusing to perform in Arizona in protest of Gov. Evan Mecham’s decision to rescind Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday. Vandross said he has canceled two sold-out concerts in Phoenix scheduled for June 18 and 19 at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix. “It’s important not just to black people but to all Americans to recognize the King holiday and honor one of the world’s great human rights leaders,” Vandross said in a prepared statement. Vandross, like Ben Vereen, Stevie Wonder and other black performers, has vowed not to perform again in Arizona until the King holiday is reinstated.