Not an Orange County event, but likely to be of interest to some folks: Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund and civil rights lawyer, will be the keynote speaker at Duke University's 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

For more information: http://news.duke.edu/2007/12/edelman.html

“I, Too, Sing America”: The New Frontier | 7:00 p.m. | Great Hall, Student Union

If we had the opportunity to start all over again, how could our world be different? This performance will help us imagine the possibilities through song, dance and spoken word.

• Contact: Racine Peters at rlpeters@email.unc.edu
• Sponsor: Black Student Movement

Screening and Discussion with Filmmaker: "Faces of Change" | 5:00 p.m. | Room 1015 (Auditorium), Fedex Global Education Center | map

Candlelight Vigil | 6:30 p.m. | McCorkle Place, around the Old Well | map

Join us as we light candles and honor of the achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. with brief speakers and performances.

• Contact: Nicole Murphy at nmurphy@email.unc.edu
• Sponsor: Theta Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

23rd Annual University/Community Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Banquet | 6:00 p.m. | William & Ida B. Friday Center for Continuing Education | map

Keynote Speaker: Rev. Chancy R. Edwards, Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Fayetteville, NC and Senior Advisor to the Governor of North Carolina.

Update: Banquet tickets are now sold out

You are also invited to make contributions to the MLK Scholarship Fund by sending donations to P.O. Box 612, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

• Contact: Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at 919-962-6962
• Sponsor: University/Community MLK Planning Corporation

The annual community celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., a rally with speeches and song, will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Peace & Justice Plaza at the Franklin Street Post Office. At 10:30 a.m., participants will march west on Franklin Street to First Baptist Church of Chapel Hill, located at 106 N. Roberson St., for the annual service commemorating King’s life.

The Rev. Curtis Gatewood, former president of the Durham Chapter of the NAACP, is the featured speaker at the 11 a.m. service.

I am filling up our calendar with all the major events related to Martin Luther King day that I can find. Do you know of others? Just go to http://orangepolitics.org/node/add/event to add it.

Tag your entry MLK Day and we'll have a nice collection of events at http://orangepolitics.org/tags/mlk-day.

HE WAS A POEM: A GATHERING IN THE TRADITION
Monday Jan. 21 * 7 p.m.
The Stone Center Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery and Museum

The program will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through music and poetry, with performances by:

KIM ARRINGTON, a Durham-based singer and spoken word artist
RON BAXTER, a local jazz musician
DONOVAN LIVINGSTON, a UNC junior and spoken word artist
MICHAEL SIMANGA and LITA HOOPER, Atlanta-based poets and authors
BRADLEY SIMMONS, director of the Duke University Djembe Ensemble

Refreshments will be served. The program is free and open to the public.
Limited free parking available; please call the Stone Center at 962-9001 for more information.

Sponsors: The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, and the University Library