Prayer breakfast and activities to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Three events celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held in Haywood County, organized by the Haywood County MLK Committee.

• 22nd annual Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. Jan. 16 in the Lambuth Inn Dining Room at Lake Junaluska. Hilliard Gibbs Jr. of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be the featured speaker. Music will be provided by the Dellwood Baptist Church Youth Choir. Tickets for the prayer breakfast are $15 for adults and $7 for children and students.

• Pride March at 11 a.m. on Jan. 14. Starts at the Haywood County Justice Center and ends at the Pigeon Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville.

• Commemorative Service at 3 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Waynesville. Rev. Marion Crite of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Canton will preach.

828.215.0296.

WCU to host Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Jan. 16-21

Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Ed Gordon will be the keynote speaker for Western Carolina University’s annual celebration in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Gordon, a veteran journalist who hosts the public affairs program “Weekly with Ed Gordon” on Black Entertainment Television, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center as part of a program sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs. The address and all King celebration events at WCU are free and open to the public.

Gordon’s experience includes serving as news anchor at BET News, host of “News and Notes with Ed Gordon” on National Public Radio, and contributor to “Dateline NBC,” “Today” and “60 Minutes II.” His awards include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Image Award and the Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

Then on Tuesday, Jan. 17, students will re-enact King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech from the UC balcony at 12:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to gather on the UC lawn. At 3:30 p.m., Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity members will share personal stories and discuss issues of social justice in the workforce in the UC multipurpose room. At 6 p.m., the Student Government Association Diversity Council will screen the documentary “Freedom Riders,” which chronicles the experience of a group of civil rights activists in segregated communities in 1961, followed by a discussion in the UC theater.

For more information about service activities contact the Center for Service Learning at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.227.7184. For more information about the celebration, visit www.wcu.edu/26376.asp.