Events Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Board of Community Relations annual breakfast begins at 9:30 a.m. at the University of Toledo’s Savage Hall next Monday.

The program, entitled "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 2002 Unity Celebration" will feature speakers, a celebrity brunch to feed the homeless, and songs by an interdenominational choir.

After controversy arose between the board and then-Mayor Carty Finkbeiner over the program’s keynote speaker two years ago, the BCR and the city administration held separate celebrations. This year there will be one joint celebration.

Other scheduled events include:

Thursday
Bruce Jacobs, a Harvard graduate, poet, and author of Race Manners, will make several local appearances, starting with a talk at the University of Toledo Student Union at 7 p.m.

Friday
Mr. Jacobs will read poems from his book, Speaking Through My Skin, at 7 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2272 Collingwood Blvd.
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A concert honoring Dr. King will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Temple-Shomer Emunim, 6453 Sylvania Ave., in Sylvania.
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The Toledo Catholic Diocese will hold a special “Let Freedom Ring” service at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 219 Page St. The Rev. Paul Marshall of the University of Dayton will be a guest speaker.

Saturday
The play Coretta Scott King, A Morsel of Bread will be presented at the Valentine Theatre at 7 p.m. A second performance of the play will occur on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.

Sunday
The Toledo Area Lutheran Coalition will hold its annual King celebration at 4 p.m. at Glenwood Lutheran Church, 2545 Monroe St. Dr. Richard J. Perry, assistant professor at the Lutheran School of Theology, will be keynote speaker.
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Bruce Jacobs, author of Race Manners, will speak from the pulpit at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 20 in a joint service for St. Mark's and All Saints Episcopal churches at St. Mark's.
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Leigh Touchton, president of the Valdosta/Lowndes County, Ga., branch NAACP, will be the keynote speaker at the Save Our Children, Inc. “A Tribute to a King 2002” program at 7 p.m. at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 1401 Hoag St.
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The Fremont NAACP branch will hold its annual MLK celebration at First Presbyterian Church, 120 South Park Ave., at 5 p.m. Area ministers will participate and winners of the branch's oratorical contest will be presented.

Jan. 21
Bowling Green State University will host its third annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at 101 Olscamp Hall at 8 a.m. The keynote speaker will be Sonia Sanchez.
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The Chosen Few Bowling Club will honor local African-American bowlers Berene Miller and the late Tom Futrell, Sr., Albert Sims, Jr., and Albert Sims III during its Black History Bowling Tournament at University Lanes, 2567 West Bancroft St., at 1:30 p.m. The bowlers helped break the color barrier in several white-owned bowling alleys in Toledo.
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The sixth annual MLK Basketball Classic will be held at Libbey High School, 1250 Western Ave., at 1 p.m. T he scholarship fund-raiser hosted by the Northwest Ohio Black Media Association will feature Libbey's boys and girls basketball teams against the Cleveland East Tech boys and the Emmanuel Baptist girls.
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Adrian College, Siena Heights University, and the Lenawee Intermediate School District will host the 14th annual Martin Luther King, Jr., breakfast in the Tobias Room at Adrian College, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Linda Lee, the United Methodist Church bishop for the Michigan area will be the keynote speaker.
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Fostoria Mayor John Davoli and Tiffin Mayor Bernard Hohman will speak at a dinner honoring Dr. King at Ebenezer Methodist Church, 75 North Sandusky St., in Tiffin at 6 p.m. Fostoria will celebrate the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr., with a brief ceremony at 5 p.m. on the lawn at city hall, 213 South Main St.
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Sandusky High School and recent Ohio State graduate Shaunte Collins will speak at a program sponsored by the Sandusky Club of Black Business and Professional Women, the program, 11 a.m. at Sandusky High School, 2130
Hayes Ave.

Jan. 23
Bowling Green State University will host a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., tribute program entitled, “Disabilities and Civil Rights,” from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Jerome Library.

Staff writer Kim Bates contributed to this report.