The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast is coming up in Asheville. The Urban News has the info:
The Asheville-Buncombe County Martin Luther King, Jr. Association will observe the 80th birthday of the civil rights leader at its 28th annual Prayer Breakfast at the Grove Park Inn on January 17, 2009. The King holiday events are one of the largest public celebrations in Asheville each year, attracting more than 1,000 citizens and distinguished guests to the historic inn.
The breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. and includes music by the MLK Fellowship Choir and a tribute to Dr. King by Deja Benton Galloway. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Bernard LaFayette, who worked closely with Dr. King in the years before his assassination and has been a leader in the movement for peace and nonviolent conflict resolution for more than 40 years. He directs the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island and serves as chairman of the Rhode Island Select Commission on Race and Police-Community Relations. In 2007 he received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the School of Law at Quinnipiac University.
And there’s more:
• On Thursday, there’s a 4 p.m. youth awards celebration at Diana Wortham Theatre.
• On Monday, Jan. 19, there’s the annual noon Peace Walk and rally beginning at Nazareth First Baptist Church at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Pine Street. Marchers will walk north to the MLK Park. At 6 p.m., there’s a candle-lighting service at St. Matthias Episcopal.