Area King celebrations start Thursday

The King remembrances begin at 7 p.m. Thursday with the Martin Luther King Jr. City Wide Celebration Committee's fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Extravaganza at the Osage Community Centre. The birthday celebration is held on the Thursday before the King holiday every year to commemorate King's actual birthday. Despite King's birthday falling on the Monday holiday this year, chairwoman Debra Mitchell-Braxton said the committee kept the same day for the event to avoid confusion.

On Sunday the committee will sponsor the 17th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration at Rhema Word Breakthrough Ministries at 750 N. Mount Auburn Road. Several area ministers will give tributes to King and his legacy. The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award will also be handed out at the event.

On Monday, the committee will host the memorial breakfast at 7:30 a.m., the sixth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the Osage Community Centre and the 11th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Gala at 4 p.m. at center court in West Park Mall.

The luncheon will feature another civil rights activist, Dr. Bartalette Finney, and performances by area choirs. The Dr. C. John Ritter Humanitarian Award will also be presented.

Finney is the president of the council of presiding elders in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a young follower of King and was the first black person to work on Main Street in Lexington, Mo., in 1967, breaking a longstanding color barrier. He also chaired Jesse Jackson's 1984 campaign for president in Kansas.

The Youth Gala will feature area children performing musical and spoken tributes to King and the civil rights movement.

The City Wide Celebration Committee is seeking sponsors to help pay the $6,000 in facility and equipment rental fees the committee incurs in hosting the events, Mitchell-Braxton said. Local businesses have been generous with donations of food and other materials, but more sponsors are still needed, she said.

The support helps keep the events free, which in turn helps the committee collect items for needy people in the area and makes the events accessible for people who might not be able to afford attendance fees, Mitchell-Braxton said.

For more information on the university dinner, visit www.semo.edu/mlk. For more information on the other events, call Mitchell-Braxton at 979-0213.

-- Matt Sanders