MLK Community Celebration Schedule Announced

(KNSI) – The 12th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration is scheduled for January 13-17 in St. Cloud.

This year’s theme is “Our Beloved Community: Our Work is Not Done Yet.” Activities are scheduled at sites across the city and the St. Cloud State University campus.

Things kick off with Family Day at the Atwood Memorial Center Ballroom. The men’s basketball team will host a special game at 2:30 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall. It also marks the unveiling of the winners of The Dexter R. Stanton Essay and Visual Arts Contest.

The keynote event is Monday, January 15th, MLK Day, at the River’s Edge Convention Center. The featured speaker will be Lee Hawkins. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2022. Hawkins’ latest book is “NOBODY’S SLAVE: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free.”

Hawkins can trace his roots to before the American Revolution. The book focuses on how the lives of black and white families are connected and how historical trauma still influences us today. Registration for the dinner is open now.

The celebration ends on the 17th with MLK Movie Night at the Paramount Center for the Arts. The film will be 2014’s “Selma.”

SCSU Vice President for Equity and Inclusion & Title IX Coordinator Chocoletta Simpson says, “We are looking forward to having you all join us again in hopes that you will leave positively impacted and inspired by what MLK stood for: justice, racial equality, community service and social change.”

Every event is free.

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