MLK Jr. events planned in Renton

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church in the Renton Highlands is hosting a special program in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The celebration is at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at the church, 4519 N.E. 10th St. in Renton.

January 6, 2012 1:59 pm

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church in the Renton Highlands is hosting a special program in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The celebration is at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at the church, 4519 N.E. 10th St. in Renton.

Guest Rev. Leslie Braxton of New Beginnings Christian Fellowship in Renton has been invited to speak as well as Rev. Linda Smith, who will speak about Dr. King. Smith is pastor of The S.K.Y Institute in Renton.

New Beginnings’ choir will sing along with the Martin Luther King Jr. Baptist choir.

There will be a special presentation in honor of King.

For more information call, 425-255-1446.

Celebrations to honor King are planned regionally, too.

One of the largest annual Martin Luther King Day celebrations in the U.S. will take place in Seattle on Jan. 16.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, chaired by King County Council member Larry Gossett, is hosting their 30th anniversary of annual events with a day of workshops, a rally and a march.

Themed “Recapturing MLK Jr.’s Revolutionary Spirit!” the day kicks off with workshops geared toward youth from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave at East Jefferson in Seattle.

At 11 a.m. a rally with speakers, poetry and music will commence followed by a march at 12:30 p.m. from the school to the Jackson Federal Building at Second Avenue and Marion.

There organizers will present a brief outdoor rally.

For more information call 206-786-2763, or 206-296-1002, or visit www.mlkseattle.org.

This year also marks the 25th year that King County and its employees will honor the life of Rev. King.

The public is invited to join King County employees at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle for the county’s free Silver Anniversary celebration at noon on Thursday, January 12.

Speakers at the celebration will include Gossett, King County Executive Dow Constantine and former King County Council member Bruce Laing, one of the leaders who worked to rename the county in honor of Dr. King 25 years ago.

The celebration will include musical performances by Abráce, a Seattle-based group that builds inter-cultural understanding through music, along with the reunited MLK Employee Singers, county employees who have performed at previous celebrations.