The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration returns in 2024 with a multi-day community celebration with the theme “Our Beloved Community: Our Work is Not Done Yet.”
The 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration will take place Jan. 13-17 in the St. Cloud area, with the main event on Jan. 15 held at the River’s Edge Convention Center in downtown St. Cloud. The community event is led by St. Cloud State University and the City of St. Cloud in partnership with the community and area partners. Registration is open to reserve your spot.
“We are so excited to be at the center of another MLK Community Celebration. Renee Bertram, St. Cloud State University’s Affirmative Action Officer, has been working all year to lead in the coordination of this celebration. Ms. Bertram is also a long-standing community member for 20-plus years,” said SCSU Vice President for Equity and Inclusion & Title IX Coordinator Chocoletta Simpson, who is responsible for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts at SCSU, which includes events such as the MLK Community Celebration.”
“I’m reminded every year of the spirit of true community expressed by how our community shows up for such a celebration,” Simpson continued. “We are looking forward to having you all join us again in hopes that you will leave positively impacted and inspired by what MLK stood for: justice, racial equality, community service and social change. We are proud to announce this year’s featured guest, author, journalist and recipient of the Carter Foundation Fellowship, Lee Hawkins.”
The annual MLK Community Celebration includes activities over multiple days that offer several ways to get involved and honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This event is an opportunity for the Central Minnesota community to come together, engage in conversation and share time together while honoring Dr. King’s dream.
This year, events on Jan. 13 will include activities for families and recognize the winners of The Dexter R. Stanton Essay and Visual Arts Contest. MLK Family Day is also being held at SCSU from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Atwood Memorial Center Ballroom. The SCSU Men’s Basketball will honor the legacy of Dr. King during a “I Have a Dream” game at 2:30 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall.
On Jan. 14, activities will honor the legacy of African American Churches for their role in the U.S. civil rights movement and will provide opportunities for praise and worship at the Jubilee Worship Center.
The celebration continues on Jan. 15, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at the River’s Edge Convention Center in downtown St. Cloud. The day will feature food, activities for kids, recognition of the Humanitarian Award winners, opportunities to participate in an annual service project, and keynote speaker Lee Hawkins.
Activities conclude on Jan. 17 with an MLK Movie Night at 7 p.m. at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud. Attendees will get free admission to a showing of the film “Selma.”
All activities take place at no cost thanks to numerous community partners. Visit the MLK Community Celebration website for more details and for information on how you can donate to show your support.
About Keynote Speaker Lee Hawkins
Lee Hawkins is an American investigative journalist and author who was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2022. His work documents the lives of Black American descendants of slavery and Jim Crow survivors and the intergenerational impact of racial violence and racism on their families. His reporting also addresses people affected by childhood trauma and its long-term effects on health and life expectancy.
His forthcoming book, “NOBODY’S SLAVE: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free,” is an introspective journey into his family history, tracing its roots to pre-Revolutionary America. Utilizing genetic testing, investigative reporting, and historical documentation, Mr. Hawkins explores 400 years of his family’s lineage, revealing the intertwined lives of Black and White families, their resilience and sufferings, and the impact of historical trauma. This personal exploration serves as a broader commentary on the importance of genealogical research in healing and bridging racial divides in contemporary America. Mr. Hawkins is the Series Creator, Co-Executive Producer, and Host of the forthcoming podcast ‘What Happened in Alabama?’ for American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. His journalistic endeavors are supported by various colleges, universities, and non-profit organizations.
He is currently a 2023-2024 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism at The Carter Center. Additionally, Mr. Hawkins has been recognized as a 2022-23 O’Brien Fellow for Public Service Journalism at Marquette University and has received the National Fellowship for reporting on childhood trauma from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s Fund for Journalism of Child Well-Being. Prior to these roles, he served for 19 years at the Wall Street Journal as a Reporter/On-Air Host and News Editor. His coverage there included education and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on children and families. He was notably a lead reporter on a Wall Street Journal team that received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist honors in the Explanatory category for their coverage of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. Mr. Hawkins’s co-authored story focused on its intergenerational impact in “The Dreams of Jack and Daisy Scott.”
Mr. Hawkins’ impactful journalism has earned him numerous accolades, including the 2023 “Salute to Excellence” Award from the National Association of Black Journalists for a story on how the Jesuits of Maryland used financial revenues from slavery plantations to establish and fund Georgetown University and other Jesuit educational institutions. A versatile journalist, he has reported across media platforms, including print, video, and television, conducting on-camera interviews with key newsmakers and reporting globally. A five-time winner of the National Association of Black Journalist’s “Salute to Excellence” Award and a Logan Nonfiction Fellowship recipient, Mr. Hawkins was raised in Maplewood and the historic Rondo community in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a high school student, he led annual MLK birthday marches with Martin Luther King III and others and received the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Minnesota’s King Holiday Commission. Mr. Hawkins has devoted his life to studying and embodying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of nonviolent social change.
