The University of Central Arkansas will be the site of this year’s “A Day of Service – A Day On, Not Day Off.” The statewide celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held Monday, Jan. 16 at noon in Reynolds Performance Hall.
The Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission has decided to move its annual celebration event throughout the state to help get the word out about the commission and King’s work, according to executive director DuShun Scarbrough.
The commission is partnering with the UCA, Hendrix College, Central Baptist College, Conway public schools, the City of Conway, Conway Corporation, Conway Regional Health System and State Rep. Linda Tyler on the event.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Commissioner Cornell Maltbia, pastor of True Holiness Saints Center in Conway, will be the keynote speaker.
Other speakers at the event will include Gov. Mike BeeBe, Conway Mayor, Tab Townsell, Maria Oates, a youth commissioner at Conway High School, the Rev. Cecil Gibson, pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Luann and Phil Kaplan, chairman of the MLK commission.
“We thank you in advance for joining us in events that will help this and the next generation achieve Dr. King’s dreams of understanding and acceptance of nonviolence and human equality as a way of building common unity among all Arkansans,” Scarbrough said.
The program also includes a performance by Judah Chorale, a Conway choir directed by Tommy Mason, the National Anthem will be sung by Erin Knight, a 10-year-old who attends Crystal Hill Magnet School in North Little Rock and a dance performance by Michelle Knell of Sonshine Academy.
Several activities are planned after the program including a meal for the less fortunate in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center. Personal hygiene kits will be distributed along with free job counseling and health screenings will be provided.
