Local News
MLK Day of Service, Learning and Celebration returning to Viterbo on Monday
Monday night’s free La Crosse Community Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
features presentation of honors and a keynote address by environmental epidemiologist, clinician, and author Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington.
Everyone is invited to attend the La Crosse Community Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at 7 p.m. Monday at the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.
This event is held each year to honor the legacy of Dr. King, an American civil rights hero and icon.
This year’s event will feature the presentation of the MLK Leadership Award, the Lynda Blackmon Lowery Student Leadership Award, and other honors.
The 2022 celebration features a keynote address by environmental epidemiologist, clinician, and author Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington.
It is a free, in-person event, but the keynote will also be streamed live, including a Q&A. You can also watch on the Viterbo University Reinhart Institute for Ethics Facebook page.
Washington has over 30 years of research into the impact of industrial pollution on human health, committee co-chair Carolyn Colleen told Z93.
“We have our host and hostess of our event, Dr. Ezana Azene and Dr. Nicole Azene, who will be welcoming all of our attendees,” Colleen said. “We’re excited to have our Viterbo Choir and we’re very excited for this evening. It’s going to be absolutely beautiful.”
In addition to the keynote and choir performance, Viterbo announced other honors in a press release.
The MLK Leadership Award, which honors extraordinary contributions to the La Crosse community that demonstrate Dr. King’s legacy of positive change from generation to generation, will also be presented. This year’s award recipient is Antoiwana Williams, director of the Office of Multicultural Student Services at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The Lynda Lowry Student Leadership Award will be presented to a local high school student. The award is named in honor of the youngest marcher in the historic 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
A special Dr. King Beloved Community recognition will be presented to Tashyra Jackson and Shamawyah Curtis, co-founders and co-directors of Hope Restores.
Thomas Harris will also be recognized for his longtime outstanding service on the La Crosse Community Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration committee.
Viterbo will also hold its second annual MLK Day of Service, Learning, and Celebration. The university will honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a morning of community service followed by a series of educational workshops in the afternoon.
Full schedule of events can be found HERE.
