St. Paul march, ceremony to mark MLK Day
Most of Minnesota's most prominent politicians are participating in a St. Paul celebration in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Events start Monday morning at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul with a discussion of the upcoming legislative session sponsored by the Council on Black Minnesotans. That's followed by the traditional march from the History Center to the Capitol, where there will be a program of speeches and performances.
Gov. Mark Dayton will deliver opening remarks at the program, and the keynote speaker is U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison. Other political leaders scheduled to participate include Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, Rep. Betty McCollum, and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Betsy Hodges and Chris Coleman.
Here are some of the other events planned around the Twin Cities and beyond:
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• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Keynote speaker: Donna Brazille
Organizer Tiffanie Boyd, a vice president at General Mills, says this year's event includes opportunities to register for volunteer work.
"In previous years we've asked people to commit to volunteering. And we asked them how many hours would they commit, and they filled out a commitment card. This year we wanted to take that to the next level and provide them with specific opportunities where they could donate their time," she said.
At one of those, Second Harvest Heartland West in Golden Valley, executive director Rob Zeaske says about 400 volunteers are expected throughout the day to pack up bulk food donations and get them ready for distribution to food shelves.
"Increasingly, the types of food we get are coming in bulk, and that means the value of the volunteer time is enormous, Zeaske said. "Last year we had nearly 130,000 hours of volunteer time from 27,000 volunteers."
Zeaske says the Second Harvest event, called Bring Your Child to Serve Day, is meant to generate awareness among young people of the issue of hunger.
• Celebration at the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center in Minneapolis
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at the Powderhorn Community Center in Minneapolis
King was born Jan. 15, 1929, and the federal holiday is the third Monday in January. Government offices around the state are closed for the King holiday.
In Atlanta, a service will be held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was pastor.
In Memphis, Tenn., where King was assassinated, an audio recording of an interview with King will be played at the National Civil Rights Museum. The recording sheds new light on a phone call President John F. Kennedy made to King's wife more than 50 years ago.
Historians generally agree Kennedy's phone call to Coretta Scott King expressing concern over her husband's arrest in October 1960-- and Robert Kennedy's work behind the scenes to get King released -- helped JFK win the White House.