Every year, hundreds of campus and community members come together for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The 2017 event will be held on Monday, Jan. 16, and includes several components, including a Community March from Old Town to CSU, essay and poetry readings, and a celebration at the Lory Student Center. 

The March kicks off at 11 a.m. at the north end of Old Town Square and follows the traditional route down College Avenue, west on Laurel Street, and on to the CSU Oval. It ends at the LSC, where the celebration will begin. Free transportation will be available back to the Old Town garage on Mountain Avenue at Remington Street.

“Justice Now is the selected theme for this year’s celebration by the planning committee,” said Bridgette Johnson, director of CSU’s Black/African American Cultural Center.  “The committee wanted to ensure the message was clear: Nearly 54 years since Dr. King delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech during the March on Washington, we have not arrived and immediacy is still necessary. Over a half-century of struggle for equality and there is still much work to be done.”

Volunteer opportunities

An event of this magnitude would not be possible without the continued support of volunteers throughout the CSU campus and Fort Collins community. There are still several opportunities to assist with the 2017 Celebration, including:

·        Greeting and directing March Leaders in Old Town (10:15 a.m.-11 a.m.)

·        Assisting with street closures  (10:15 a.m.-noon)

·        Celebration greeters – Hand out programs and seating (11:15 a.m.-noon)

If you are interested in volunteering for the 2017 MLK Jr. Celebration, sign up online.  The MLK Volunteer Coordinators will follow-up with you to provide more specifics.

Please feel free to share this information with other members of the community. You can also visit the MLK Jr. Celebration website at www.mlkfortcollins.org.