St. Cloud to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy with Four Days of Celebration and Tributes

(KNSI) – The life and legacy of one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders will be honored in St. Cloud over four days starting Saturday.

Celebrating Doctor Martin Luther King Juinor’s legacy is possible thanks to a joint effort from St. Cloud State University and the city. SCSU Vice President of Equity and Inclusion Chocoletta Simpson says Dr. King’s ideas need to be held dear. “We believe that the legacy that he has, as far as the work he’s done. What he’s done within the community, promoting non-violence and justice, and equity for all in this vision that we all can be a community.”

Simpson says it’s been thrilling to see the event grow over the last few years. “I’ve only been a part of the community for what, three, almost three years, and it is a beautiful way that this all comes together and that it meshes and works. And I’m just excited to be at the center of it.”

The festivities start Saturday with the MLK Family Celebration at SCSU’s Atwood Memorial Center from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will include a face painting station, coloring station, snacks, announcing the Dexter R. Stanton Essay and Visual Art Contest winners, and more. Those in attendance can also participate in the historical march and virtual reality gaming. SCSU’s Men’s basketball will host the University of Minnesota Duluth in the “I Have A Dream” game. Tip-off is at 1:00 p.m. There will be a halftime tribute to the civil rights icon. You can watch the game for free with a food shelf donation.

Sunday is MLK Spirit Day at the Jubilee Worship Center. The traditional African American Christian service starts at 3:00 p.m. and will be live-streamed.

Monday is the 12th annual MLK Breakfast at the River’s Edge Convention Center in downtown St. Cloud. The breakfast includes activities for children, recognition of the humanitarian awards and a chance to participate in a service project for Pathways 4 Youth. This year’s keynote speaker is Lee Hawkins. The Maplewood native is an investigative journalist and author and was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize.

The tributes wrap up on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud. The theater is showing the movie Selma, a chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign to secure equal voting rights with a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. The film is free.

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