Events abound in Tacoma to honor, celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tacoma and Pierce County residents will have many opportunities to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Mon., Jan. 18. Here is a look at some local events scheduled to mark the national holiday. NOTE: This post will be updated as more information is available.

CITY OF TACOMA

Ordinary Men, Extraordinary Change is the theme for the City of Tacoma’s 28th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration.

The event’s keynote speaker will be Casey Family Programs President and CEO Dr. William Bell, who is also one of the founding partners of Cities United, a national movement focused on eliminating the violence in American cities related to African American men and boys.

The MLK celebration will include music, dance, and poetry that highlight the strength, resiliency, and creativity of young men of color. Performances will focus on Dr. King’s relationship with communities, how he challenged and changed our nation, and his message to honor the dignity and rights of every person. City officials will announced the recipient of this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award, which recognizes and encourages excellence in community service activities, carried out by an individual or a group.

The City of Tacoma’s 28th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration will be held on Mon., Jan. 18 (doors open at 10 a.m.; event begins at 11 a.m.), at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, located at 1500 Broadway, in downtown Tacoma. Attendees are encouraged to bring donations of non-perishable food items for the MLK Food Drive benefiting Emergency Food Network. The event is expected to draw roughly 2,000 to 3,000 adults and children.

More information is available online here.

UPDATE | TUES., JAN. 12 @ 9:10 A.M. — The City of Tacoma issued the following press release:

Community Invited to a Post MLK Celebration Discussion

City of Tacoma Invites the Community to a Youth & Young Adult Focused Post MLK Celebration Discussion

A youth led, adult supported community conversation about recognizing young men of color as community assets is planned for Jan. 18 following the Martin Luther King Junior Day Celebration.

The “Flip the Script” event begins at 2 p.m. (doors open at 1:30 p.m.) at the University of Washington Tacoma’s William W. Philip Hall (1918 Pacific Ave.) for youth and young adults to reflect on how racism impacts their sense of self and wellbeing, discuss the systems that reinforce racist images and how to make change in the community.

The event is free to attend and space is limited to 300 attendees. To reserve space(s), pre-registration is available at 253flipthescript.eventbrite.com.

Refreshments will be provided. Free parking is available in the Cragle Parking Lot (21st and C St.) or at the Tacoma Dome Station (424 E. 25th St.). For information on public transportation, please visit soundtransit.org.

For questions about the event, please call the Office of Equity and Human Rights at (253) 591-5000.

BATES TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Bates Technical College will host its annual March for MLK, which invites staff, students and countless community members to march from Bates Technical College to the City of Tacoma’s 28th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration in downtown Tacoma.

The March for MLK begins at 8 a.m. on Mon., Jan. 18, at Bates Technical College’s downtown campus, located at 1101 S. Yakima Ave., and ends at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Center, located at 1500 Broadway, in downtown Tacoma.

More information is available online here.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON TACOMA

Emmy-nominated producer and director Keith Beauchamp will be the keynote speaker for the 10th annual MLK Jr. Unity Breakfast at the University of Washington Tacoma. The U.S. Department of Justice cited Beauchamp’s documentary The Untold Story of Emmett Till as a factor in reopening its 50-year-old investigation into Till’s death.

Beauchamp spent nearly ten years investigating Emmett Till’s murder. During the course of his research, he interviewed witnesses who had never before spoken about the case. His work yielded new leads and potential suspects that led the Department of Justice to reexamine Till’s murder. Beauchamp currently collaborates with the FBI’s New Civil Rights “Cold Case” Initiative, producing documentaries on other unsolved civil rights murders. He has been featured on 60 Minutes, ABC World News Tonight, MSNBC, Good Morning America, CNN, and BBC, as well as publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post. Beauchamp is currently the executive producer and host of Investigation Discovery’s crime reality series The Injustice Files.

During his presentation, Beauchamp will discuss the changing views of civil rights in the United States with an emphasis on how the past both informs and conflicts with our current understanding of race and justice.

This year’s breakfast is titled The Spirit of Justice in a New Generation, and is sponsored by the Division of Student and Enrollment Services and the Black Student Union. The event will be held on Mon., Jan. 18, between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., at the University Y Student Center, located at 1710 Market St., in downtown Tacoma.

More information is available online here.

WASHINGTON STATE HISTORY MUSEUM

Admission to the Washington State History Museum is free on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In addition, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts will present Get on the Bus, a play merging the stories of generations of civil rights activists—from the Freedom Riders of the 1960s to the DREAM activists of today. The free event begins in the museum auditorium at 3:30 p.m. on Mon., Jan. 18, at the Washington State History Museum, located at 1911 Pacific Ave., in downtown Tacoma. More information is available online here.

CLOVER PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Bates Technical College’s Multicultural Student Services will present an interactive presentation by Ron Taplin entitled The American Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of a Nation. The event will begins at 12 p.m. on Tues., Jan. 12, at the Bates Technical College Student Center (Room 301), located at 4500 Steilacoom Blvd., in Lakewood. More information is available online here.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. events and activities in Tacoma, click on the following links: