St. Cloud Holding Three Days of Events in Honor of MLK

(KNSI) – Registration is open for three days of events in St. Cloud leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 17th.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Trust & Healing in the Beloved Community.” The MLK Community Celebration is from January 15th through January 17th.

Buddy King is co-chair of the MLK Community Celebration planning committee and says the planning committee is offering the events in a hybrid model due to the increase in COVID cases.

“At every event on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, you have the option of virtual or in person at your leisure, at your convenience but, you must register in order for that to happen.”

Saturday, January 15th, is family day featuring a puppet show, reading activities, live entertainment and coloring in the Mississippi Room at the Great River Regional Library. King says attendees will be asked to write a letter to someone in an area nursing facility.

“Just basically to let them know that somebody is out here thinking about and caring about them. And we want to make sure they know that they’re loved and supported.”

Sunday, January 16th, is spirit day, with a joint Sunday service at four churches in St. Cloud. The churches are New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church with Pastor Powell, City Of Grace Church with Pastor Daniels, Christ the Redeemer Church of God with Pastor Obgu and Higher Ground Church of God of Christ with Pastor Alberts.

Monday, January 17th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is called a day of justice and will feature keynote speaker Dr. Artika Tyner giving a virtual address over Zoom. She is currently at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and is the founding director of the Center on Race, Leadership, and Social Justice.

Planning committee co-chair Dr. Mary Clifford says Monday will give people a chance to talk after Dr. Tyner’s presentation in breakout rooms at St. Cloud State University or online.

“I’m really excited about that because one of the things that I hope comes from that is the continued conversation. And all of these events that we’ve been hosting, and that we’ve seen kind of emerge in cloud have been about continuing ways to make those connections.”

The traditional MLK Community Breakfast and Day of Service in St. Cloud was canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but community members decided they wanted to keep the tradition alive in some form even if they couldn’t meet face to face. That decision gave birth to the three-day format which officials hope to maintain.

Find details and registration for all of the events by clicking here.

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