Honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy at these Tri-Cities events
.JPG "The Martin Luther King Jr. statue and bell-ringing ceremony at Columbia Basin College in Pasco in 2017.")
Several Tri-City events planned for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day will pay tribute to the civil rights icon’s legacy and honor his life of public service.
They are free and open for all to attend.
- Columbia Basin College will host a “Day of Service” food distribution event outside the H Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20. That event is being spearheaded by the Tri-City Diversity and Inclusion Council, CBC, HAPO Credit Union, Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Program, WSU Tri-Cities, Heritage University, Lutheran Community Services Northwest and the African American Community Cultural and Educational Society.
- WSU Tri-Cities will observe a “National Day of Racial Healing” midday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the campus on Monday.
Eastern Washington’s only historically Black sorority for graduate students hope to collect 2,000 pairs of new socks for men, women and children. The Psi Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha will host its annual “Warm Their Soles” campaign from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick. All donations benefit community members in need. Donors can also buy supplies off the sorority’s Amazon wish list.
- At 5:30 p.m., CBC plans its annual “MLK Bell Ringing Ceremony” outside the T Building by the Martin Luther King Jr. statue. After the ceremony, attendees will move indoors to honor the 2025 MLK Jr. Spirit Award winner with a short program. The recipient will be announced early Monday morning in the Tri-City Herald.
The Spirit Award is bestowed on someone in the Tri-Cities community who strongly believes in equality and social justice and whose contributions to society reflect the spirit, philosophy and teachings of the late civil rights icon.
Last year’s honoree was Joseph Thornton, founder of the Big Bro Joe Foundation, a youth mentorship nonprofit that connects youths with positive male role models.
The statue of King was installed at the college at 2600 N. 20th Ave. in Pasco more than three decades ago.
Arthur Broady gives MLK talks Jan. 18-19
Motivational speaker and local storyteller Arthur Broady will give two presentations about MLK Jr. and his speeches at weekend appearances.
Broady is a U.S. Air Force veteran and Hanford site retiree who was born and raised in Virginia, the nephew of “Hidden Figures” mathematician Katherine Johnson.
He was the first Black man to enroll at the historic Emory and Henry University in 1966, and he’s been honored as a distinguished alum. He’s previously told stories about his sixth great-grandfather’s life of slavery and eventual freedom.
At the Richland Players Theater on Saturday, Broady will tell the revealing and often untold story of how King’s iconic 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech came together.
Those “dream” words were neither scripted nor planned.
Broady’s multi-media presentation, titled “The Dream... We Almost Never Heard,” has been given several times to local and regional audiences. This rendition will feature gospel music by soloist Daphne Jackson.
Broady’s presentation is offered at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. It’s free to attend, but donations will be made to benefit Mirror Ministries, a local organization working with survivors of human trafficking.
He also has a presentation planned for 11:30 a.m., Sunday, at Southside Church in Richland to detail the astonishing conditions surrounding another of King’s speeches: His December 1964 address accepting the Nobel Peace Prize.
King voiced concerns at the time about accepting the prize on behalf of the ongoing civil rights movement.
