Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored at Iowa State and in the Ames community throughout the month of January. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, Jan. 15, a university holiday.

All events below are free and open to the public.

January events

  • Monday, Jan. 15, Community birthday celebration (6 p.m., Ames Middle School, 3915 Mortensen Rd.). Head to the annual community celebration of King’s life and service with songs, stories and birthday cake. An hour-long program begins at 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. legacy convocation, "Balancing Freedom of Expression and Diversity: Campus Conversation" (6 p.m., Memorial Union Sun Room). Join a discussion about balancing First Amendment rights with the concerns of diverse populations on university campuses.
  • Monday, Jan. 29, Lecture, "Race and Justice in America" (8 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall). Equal Justice Initiative founder and executive director Bryan Stevenson will discuss the history of race in America's criminal justice system, as well as EJI's "Lynching in America" project. Stevenson's memoir, "Just Mercy," tells the story of a young lawyer fighting against extreme punishment and careless justice.