Here’s how Wichitans can celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy on Monday and beyond

A noon worship celebration featuring a keynote speaker and a half-day of service opportunity are back in-person this year to mark the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday in Wichita.

The Greater Wichita Ministerial League’s longtime King celebration and Habitat for Humanity’s day of service, where more than 200 volunteers will frame three homes, are among several events being held in Wichita to celebrate the life and contributions of America’s leading civil rights activist.

Here are the planned celebrations Monday and beyond:

▪ 7th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heroes and Sheroes breakfast hosted by the ARISE musical group, 8-9:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at the WSU Rhatigan Student Center Beggs Ballroom. Formed in 1988, ARISE is a musical and education group whose acronym stands for African Americans Renewing Interest in Spirituals Ensemble.

Six individuals will be honored at this year’s sold-out breakfast in the categories of transformation, empowerment, advocacy, cultural awareness and hope. Honorees are state Rep. K.C. Ohaebosim; William Polite, director of Wichita Public School’s department of equity, diversity and accountability; Rob Simon, a diversity consultant with USD 259 and Wichita State University; John Rolfe, president and CEO of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce; Janice Thacker, founder and CEO of Art That Touches the Heart; and Dr. Anthony Turner, a dentist with HealthCore. Also, two local high school students will be awarded scholarships. Alicia Thompson, superintendent of Wichita Public Schools, is the keynote speaker.

▪ Habitat for Humanity’s day of service, 8-11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, Century II’s Bob Brown Expo Hall. About 200 volunteers are expected for this event, which was started in 2017 to recognize King’s legacy of service. Resuming this year after a two-year break because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Monday morning event will mark the most ambitious undertaking of homes being framed since the event began.

This year, the walls for three homes destined for three single-mother-led families will be framed, according to Kathy Lefler, communications and marketing manager for the local Habitat for Humanity. At each of the days of service from 2017 through 2020, about 80 volunteers framed one home. Preregistration for volunteers was required for this year’s event.

▪ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Worship Celebration, noon Monday, Jan. 16, at the WSU Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th St. North. For nearly 40 years, the Greater Wichita Ministerial League has hosted a celebration that is part worship, part inspiration in recognition of King’s roots as a minister and as the leader of one of American’s most influential movements. Held online during the pandemic, the event returns to an in-person one this year. Journalist and author Roland Martin of Washington, D.C., is the featured speaker for the event. Martin’s most recent book is “White Fear: How the Browning of America Is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds.”

Pastor C. Richard Kirkendoll, president of the ministerial league, called Brown the right speaker for this year’s event. Brown’s talk is titled “Daring to Dream: The Radical Imagination of a New Generation.”

“When you consider what’s going on in America, a lot of it is due to fear,” said Kirkendoll, who is the minister at Bethany Baptist Church. “There are some changes taking place whether we like it or not. He (Brown) says things that help us get comfortable with the changes coming up. It’s about how we can get along. And isn’t that what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was about? … He wanted America to be a better America. Roland is very good at imparting those ideas. I think he will make the audience aware of problems we’re having and how we’re living in fear of each other when we don’t have to be.”

Pastor Ronda Kingwood of Heart of Christ Church will be the event’s mistress of ceremonies, heading up the worship part of the celebration that starts the event.

The event is free, but Kirkendoll advises that audience members should arrive early to ensure they get a seat in the 1,100-seat auditorium.

▪ 15th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration hosted by WSU’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, WSU Rhatigan Student Center Cadman Art Gallery. Retired university professor Galyn Vesey, who was among the group of Black Wichita teens who staged America’s first drugstore sit-in at Wichita’s Dockum Drug Store to protest whites-only dine-in service, will be the featured speaker. Vesey will talk about his love of justice, humanity and service within the community through power and activism, according to organizers.

President Ronald Reagan signed legislation in 1983 to create a federal holiday in King’s honor. The state of Kansas began its observance of the holiday in 1985.