Every year, Evanston and the suburbs honor the the late Baptist minister, activist, and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the third Monday in January. This year, that will fall Jan. 20, but commemorations will occur throughout the week.
Jan. 18
The City of Evanston will celebrate at noon on Jan. 18 with “The Black Women’s Legacy in the Movement,” at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St., Evanston. The keynote speaker will be Cherese Ledet, president and CEO of YWCA Evanston/Northshore. There will be several performances, including Ayodele Drum & Dance and spoken word.
Jan. 19
At 3 p.m. on Jan. 19, the Music Institute of Chicago, partnering this year with Evanston Interfaith Clergy and Leaders, will hold its 22nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration Concert at Nicholas Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston.
Faith leaders from Evanston will share readings and Music Institute student violinist David Roche will perform a work by Jessie Montgomery. Other performances will be by Dance Center Evanston, the Hearing in Color Young Composer Residency, Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative and Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play Program. Evanston Art Center will create a visual art display of new works by Evanston artists.
“It’s one of my favorite events of the year,” said Music Institute President Mark George. “We have the honor to convene a diverse group of community leaders and performing artists for an afternoon of celebration and fellowship.”
The event is free and open to the public. For further information, visit nicholsconcerthall.org.
Jan. 20
The Evanston Public Library will honor Dr. King with an MLK Day of Service for adults and children in third grade and older on Jan. 20. There will be a morning session from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and an afternoon session from 2 to 5 p.m. At both, volunteers will create reusable sanitary pads for the Girls 4 Girls Ghana organization.
Jan. 21
Northwestern University has planned several events to honor King, the main one being the MLK Commemoration at 5 p.m. on Jan. 21 at the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, 70 Arts Circle Drive.
The keynote speaker will be Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, a lifelong resident of Chicago’s South Side who founded Chicago Mahogany Tours to highlight Chicago neighborhoods. Thomas has created hundreds of videos about Chicago and has won several prestigious awards.
He will be joined by Natalie Moore, senior lecturer and director of audio journalism programming at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing.
“I think this is the 45th year that we’ve done this,” said Leona Quist, MLK Commemoration Project Leader and Executive Assistant for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at
Northwestern.
Quist said that she is excited to have Thomas featured this year, “who’s been a South Side historian for so long, and knows so much about the city. Thinking about the way that Dr. King came to Chicago and did work here and saw the differences, it’s a really interesting opportunity to be able to bring somebody else who has a unique lens on Chicago.”
The event is free and open to the public.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
