PHOTO | UNSPLASH

Martin Luther King Jr.’s (center) Jan. 15 birthday is celebrated as a national day of service. Numerous activities mark the day in the Charlotte area.

For the first time in three years, Charlotte’s largest annual Martin Luther King holiday celebration will be an in-person gathering.

The YMCA of Greater Charlotte’s MLK celebration will be held Jan. 16 at the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom. Proceeds from the event benefits programming at the McCrorey Family YMCA branch on Beatties Ford Road. The theme is “Equitable Leadership in Challenging Times,” and will focus on equity and access issues through the pandemic and its economic impacts.

The YMCA gathering is among several events in the Charlotte region highlighting MLK Day and its emphasis on service and community.

The YMCA panel includes:

• Krista Terrell, president, Arts and Science Council;

• Kinneil Coltman, executive vice president, chief community and social impact officer at Advocate Health

• Rocio Gonzalez, executive director, Women’s Business Center of Charlotte and

• Elizabeth Trotman, Foundation for the Carolinas’ senior vice president of civic leadership programs and initiatives.

“While I’m excited that we are back to hosting our MLK Holiday Celebration in-person, I’m even more excited about the transformative work we’re doing in the Beatties Ford Road and West Boulevard corridors,” said Stan Law, YMCA of Greater Charlotte’s president and CEO. “It’s with the support of generous donors and corporate partners that we are able to expand the work we’re currently doing, plus consider new projects and programs for the community.”

The event celebration includes breakfast, prayer, music and dancing with performances by the West Charlotte High School drumline and McCrorey Family YMCA youth dancers.

The McCrorey YMCA, founded in 1936 as the Second Street YMCA, is the second-oldest YMCA in Charlotte and the first built to serve the Black community.
Doors open at 7:15 a.m. and the program begins at 8 a.m. For more information, go to www.ymcacharlotte.org/mlk.

‘It Takes A Village’ collaboration
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture and Levine Museum of the New South will partner for MLK Day on Jan. 16 with “It Takes A Village” as part of their collaborative exhibition Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth.

The schedule includes:  

• Children’s Book Storytime with Braxton Winston, 9-10 a.m.

The City Council member reads to connect young people with helping their community.

• “Our Friend, Martin,” 9-10:15 a.m.

Our Friend Martin is an animated, feature-length film that features two sixth-grade boys who are transported back to the time of civil rights leader Dr. King to learn about his life and that time period.

• Civil Rights Arts & Crafts Station, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

An assortment of art activities that commemorate the Civil Rights era for the whole family.

• “The Talk: Children's Book Author Reflections,” 9:30-11 a.m.

Talented children’s books authors and illustrators continue King’s work through stories that inform and inspire.

• Empowerment Sounds with Arsena, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Covers of well-known civil rights era music, along with original music from vocalist Arsena.

• MLK & Civil Rights Trivia, Performance Suite, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

There’ll be rounds of trivia about the civil rights era for the entire family.

• NC Civil Rights Trail with the AAHC, 12-12:30 p.m.

Learn about local civil rights movements in partnership with the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission.

• “Breaking Ground: A Panel of Firsts,” 12-1:30 p.m.

Moderated by CMS Foundation Executive Director Sonja Gantt, the panel discussion features James Ferguson (co-founder of North Carolina’s first integrated law firm), Dorothy Counts-Scoggins (one of the first students to desegregate Charlotte public schools), and Ken Koontz (one of the first Black television anchor in Charlotte).

• Charlotte’s Men of Change Exhibition: Meet the Artists, 1-2 p.m.

MLK Day is the first community viewing of the Charlotte's Men of Change pop-up exhibition. Meet the local artists commissioned to create brand new artwork inspired by Black men in Charlotte.

• Community of Change Conversation, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Learn about the ways Black men in our local community are inspiring change, led by The Males Place founder Reggie Singleton, and founder of Heal Charlotte, Greg Jackson.

• Levine Museum Drop-In Art, 401 S. Tryon St., 2-4 p.m.

Enjoy crafts for all ages and view the Men of Change exhibition.

• Community Drop-In Art with Ricky Singh. 3rd-floor mezzanine, 2-4 p.m.

Ricky Singh, teaching artist and head of Charlotte Lab’s Upper School, leads the experience the entire family can enjoy.

• Youth Revolution Soundtrack

Young people will showcase a range of talents/performances to share how they are inspired to be champions of equity.

• “MLK: The Power of Words,” Performance Suite, second floor, 2:30-4 p.m.

Led by artist and community leader Jermaine Nakia Lee, participants will examine the ways in which powerful and passion-filled words can be used to communicate the concepts of freedom, justice, equality, and the American Dream.

Lenoir-Rhyne University hosts prayer breakfast in Hickory
Lenoir-Rhyne University will host its first Martin Luther King Jr. Day Prayer Breakfast on Jan. 16 from 7-10 a.m. in the Cromer Center on the Hickory campus.

The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited and registration is encouraged at www.lr.edu/mlk.

“At a time when our nation is struggling to live out Dr. King’s legacy and his vision of peace and equality for all, Lenoir Rhyne is proud to host its inaugural prayer breakfast,” said Avery Staley, LRU’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. “The university is committed to working towards equality and inclusion, and as an anchor in the Hickory community, we are proud to celebrate this important holiday.”

The program includes remarks from Staley; LRU President Fred Whitt; Director for Multicultural Affairs Terry Phillips, and Christopher Wilson (Class of 2024), a youth and family ministry major.

The LadyElle Gospel Ensemble and the Lenoir-Rhyne A Cappella Choir will provide music.

“The prayer breakfast gives voice to the diverse groups represented in Catawba County. Panel members will share how the commitment to equity impacts them and offer insight into the collective role of DEI efforts in the community,” Phillips said.

At 11 a.m., participants can join the annual march organized and sponsored by the Hickory NAACP from P.E. Monroe Auditorium on campus through Hickory to Ridgeview Recreation Center.

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