The 34th annual Fox Cities Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be held Jan. 20 at Lawrence University’s Memorial Chapel.
The community event, set for 6 to 7:30 p.m., will be a celebration of MLK’s legacy and will include speakers, the announcement of award recipients, and musical performances by NOIR, featuring Lawrence students, and Preston Parker with The Omọladé Academy. In addition, the first-ever Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir will perform.
The event will include the awarding of two annual awards—the Jane LaChapelle McCarty MLK Community Leader Award, presented to an individual or organization in the community that has supported oppressed voices and made a community impact, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educator Award, presented to a current educator or organization that educates students in the spirit of MLK.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, a Black studies scholar and author focused on political theory, political economy, intellectual history, and political and historical sociology. She has given multiple talks regarding the life and legacy of MLK, including at Penn State University, Georgetown, and Western Carolina University.
Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January.
The annual Fox Cities celebration, hosted by Lawrence, is supported by People of Progression, Appleton Area School District, United Way Fox Cities, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley, City of Appleton, Boldt, and ThedaCare. The event is organized by the MLK Planning Committee, led by co-chairs Jesus Smith, associate professor of ethnic studies at Lawrence, and Laura Jones, director of Lawrence’s Diversity and Intercultural Center.
