Martin Luther King Jr. Day events planned

A week of celebrations and discussions about the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. will take place starting today in the Charlottesville area.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the clergyman and activist who played a critical role in the civil rights movement. King, who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, and would have been 82 this year, was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

At 5 p.m. today, the Mount Zion First African Baptist Church will hold an event honoring King with the theme “Where do we go from here?” The church is located at 105 Lankford Ave. in Charlottesville.

More King-focused events will take place Monday and through the rest of the week. All events are free and open to the public:

MONDAY

l The University of Virginia School of Medicine’s second black female graduate will be one of two keynote speakers at an event honoring King. Dr. Vivian Pinn, who graduated in 1967, and former U.S. Secretary of Health Dr. Louis W. Sullivan will speak from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The event will be held in the McLeod Hall auditorium in UVa’s School of Nursing.

l The editor of King’s autobiography and papers will speak at 4 p.m. at the Caplin Pavilion at UVa’s law school, 580 Massie Road. Clayborne Carson will discuss King’s life.

TUESDAY

l UVa’s Center for Politics will screen its newest documentary, “Locked Out: The Fall of Massive Resistance,” at 7 p.m. at the Newcomb Hall Theater on Grounds. The one-hour documentary focuses on Virginia’s schoolchildren during desegregation.

WEDNESDAY

l The Miller Center of Public Affairs will host a program featuring the relationship between King and Lyndon B. Johnson documented through tapes that the former president secretly recorded. Speakers will include Kent Germany, a Miller Center fellow who edited the civil rights volume of the new version of the tapes, and Michele Rubin, the literary agent representing King’s estate. This UVa event will be held at 11 a.m. at the center, 2201 Old Ivy Road, and also will be streamed live online at www.millercenter.org.

THURSDAY

l The Democratic National Committee vice chairwoman of voter registration and participation will speak about women in leadership in light of King’s legacy during a UVa event. Donna Brazile will give her talk at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library on Grounds.

JAN. 23

l An interfaith worship service will be held at 2 p.m. at the Jefferson Theater on the Downtown Mall.

l A panel discussion on Rebecca Skloot’s book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” will be held at 4 p.m. at the Paramount, 215 E. Main St. Lacks, a black woman who had cervical cancer, gave a cell sample that was used to advance science. However, many of Lacks’ family members still live without health insurance.

JAN. 24

l Arthur Romano, a human rights activist, will give a presentation on nonviolence training and education at 4 p.m. in the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library.

JAN. 25

l Three men who helped host King during his March, 25, 1963, visit to UVa will speak at noon in the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library. Alumnus Wesley Harris, community activist Eugene Williams and UVa professor of history emeritus Paul Gaston will be a part of the discussion.

l A showing of “Freedom Riders,” a documentary about civil rights activists who tested a U.S. Supreme Court opinion barring racial segregation on public transportation, will be held at 6 p.m. at the Paramount.