Starting Monday will be the annual Martin Luther King, Junior Celebration Week at Lake Michigan College.
LMC honors the legacy of the civil rights legend each year with a slate of special events that include speakers, panel discussions, and volunteer opportunities. LMC Dean of Diversity Cam Hearth tells us the theme this year is “Creating the Beloved Community,” celebrating recent developments here in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.
“We’re recently coming off of a great event in our community, and that being the Unified Civic Monument piece, and we had the opportunity of unveiling those wonderful monuments in St. Joseph, as well as in Benton Harbor,” Hearth said. “That really has set the tone in a sense of creating a beloved community.”
Now Hearth says there should be discussions on how to continue that spirit of collaboration and goodwill.
Activities for MLK Week begin Monday afternoon.
“We’ll commence at one o’clock. We’ll have a social period between 1 and 1:30. There will be musical entertainment during that period of time. It will allow us an opportunity, that being the community, to be able to get together.”
The Community Celebration at the Mendel Center will also feature music, a keynote address by Niles-Buchanan NAACP President Beverly Woodson, the annual MLK Awards, and a presentation on the new monuments in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph.