Little Rock Nine student to anchor MLK week

Carlotta Walls-LaNier, the youngest of the Little Rock Nine involved in the integration of the city’s Central High School in 1957, will deliver a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, speak in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University.

The presentation is part of WCU’s weeklong celebration of the life, words and activities of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 

• The week’s tribute to King begins Monday, Jan. 18, with a day of service projects at various community sites, including the Community Table, Catman2 and the Good Samaritan Clinic. Another day of service will close out the week’s observance on Saturday, Jan. 23.

• Department of Intercultural Affairs will offer a presentation on the purposes and successful techniques of peaceful demonstration marches at 5 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Multipurpose Room of the University Center. The gathering will be followed by a unity march around the campus.

• Student Norman Trent Falls will reenact the historic “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech at noon Tuesday, Jan. 19, the Grandroom. The speech was originally delivered by King in Memphis on April 3, 1968 — the day before he was killed by an assassin.

• An exhibition for the works of Haitian-American photographer Cendino Teme of Miami will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Grandroom. The exhibit, titled “No More Blues,” is a compilation of Teme’s images from the I-95 peaceful protest that took place in December 2014. 

• “Then and Now: Different Times, Same Struggles” is the theme of a dialogue scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in Illusions at the University Center. 

• A second dialogue will focus on “Race Microagression” examples within different cultural groups at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in the Multipurpose Room. A cultural mixer will follow at 11 p.m.

www.wcu.edu. 

Macon

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in Franklin.  

The program will feature an address by Selma V. Sparks; special music by vocalist Ericka Washington, piper Michael Waters, organist Mary Pittman, and the Caynon-Contino Duo C-Square; and a reading by the Rev. Mozart Moliere of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Refreshments will be served in the church’s Memorial Hall following the program.

Sparks, is a native of New York and current resident of Franklin. A former journalist, political analyst, and public speaker, she is a lifelong advocate and activist for human rights causes, including peace, racial and gender equality, and literacy. Her address will focus on how Dr. King’s words and works are relevant to life in America today, almost five decades after his assassination.

This event is produced and sponsored by the Macon County Human Relations Council.  

828.524.ARTS or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Haywood 

The Haywood County Martin Luther King Jr. Committee invites all to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King by participating in a weekend of events Jan. 16-18.

• The celebration begins with a Pride March at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, starting from the Haywood County Justice Center in Waynesville. The march will end at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center with refreshments and a time of sharing.

• The Commemorative Service will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. Rev. Justin Lowe, associate pastor at Long’s Chapel UMC, Waynesville, will speak. The MLK Community Choir will provide music.

• The weekend will culminate with a Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18, in the Lambuth Inn at the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. The speaker will be Maceo Keeling, a mentor/motivational speaker/radio talk show host from Asheville. Music will be performed by LYRIC (www.lyricfans.com). Breakfast tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for students and children, with children 8 years and younger free. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Eggleston-Osborne Scholarship fund in memory of two African-American educators of Haywood County, Wilbur Eggleston and Elsie J. Osborne.

828.215.0296.

Jackson

The Jackson County NAACP will host a “Day of Service and Gratitude” to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at Bridge Park in Sylva. Participants will share a meal, sing, and speak. In case of bad weather, click on www.jacksonncnaacp.org.