U of A Students, Community Leaders Join for MLK Day Events

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A full day of events are scheduled on Monday, Jan. 15, for the University of Arkansas campus and Fayetteville communities to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council will hold its annual MLK Freedom March starting at 11:15 a.m. at the corner of MLK Boulevard and Razorback Road, with marchers gathering in U of A parking lot 56. The march will proceed along Razorback Road to the Arkansas Union. In the event of bad weather the march will be moved to the Verizon Ballroom in the Union.

Following the march, the U of A Associated Student Government and Black Student Association will hold their annual Noon Vigil in the Verizon Ballroom. Like the march, the vigil is free and open to the public.

This year’s vigil will feature a performance by the Inspirational Chorale, as well as  speakers including Charles Robinson, vice chancellor for student affairs, and the keynote address by Yvette Murphy-Erby, vice provost for diversity and inclusion. Several students will also speak at the vigil.

The day’s events begin with the MLK Dream Keepers’ Youth Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. in the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House.

At 9:30 a.m. the council will co-sponsor the MLK Dream Keepers’ Youth Activity along with U of A Intramural Sports and Intercollegiate Athletics at the HPER Building.

The day’s celebration ends with the council’s 22nd annual MLK Recommitment Banquet at 7 p.m. at the Fayetteville Town Center. The University of Arkansas serves as executive producer of this event.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.