COLUMBUS, Ohio – Central Ohio honors slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with prayers and marches Sunday and Monday.
CLOSINGS: Federal, state, county, city offices. No mail delivery. No trash/recycling pickup. Downtown parking meters are free.
Gov. John Kasich will be among those delivering remarks at the Columbus Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Breakfast, which begins at 7:00 a.m. at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N. High Street.
The Columbus Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Holiday Celebration begins at 4:00 p.m., at the King Arts Complex, 867 Mt. Vernon Avenue and the annual march will start at 4:45 p.m. and proceed to the Lincoln Theater, 769 E. Long Street.
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More than 1,000 Ohio State students are expected to participate in the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, working at 64 locations throughout central Ohio, followed by the Ohio State Student March for Freedom. Marchers will gather at 3:00 p.m. at the Hale Center, 154 W. 12th Avenue and march to the Ohio Union for transportation to the King Arts Complex where the students will join the larger march.
Southbound on Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard to E. Spring Street
Westbound on E. Spring St. to Lester Drive
Southbound on Lester Drive to E. Long Street
Eastbound on E. Long St. to the Lincoln Theater, 769 E. Long St.
Brief rolling closures will be in place along the route between about 4:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., city officials say. Closures of E. Spring Street and E. Long Street are expected to be less than 15 minutes each in duration. Motorists may wish to consider I-70, I-670 or E. Broad Street as alternatives during the march.
Gene Smith, Vice President and Director of Athletics for The Ohio State University (left), is the featured speaker for the Worthington Community Celebration Monday at 11:00 a.m. at the Worthington United Methodist Church, 600 High Street.
The January 19th program will also include performances from Capriccio Columbus and the Capriccio Youth Choir.
Ohio Wesleyan University and the Delaware County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee will explore “Who in Our Midst is the Next MLK?” during the observance.
Community events begin with the 30th annual Delaware-area worship service at 3:00 p.m. Jan. 18 at William Street United Methodist Church, 28 W. William Street.
Beryl D. Anderson, J.D., will discuss today’s youth and tomorrow’s history-makers. Anderson is a former international communications director for Rosa Parks, whose refusal to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955 spurred the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation.
The observance will continue at 7:45 a.m. Monday with the 22nd annual MLK Breakfast Celebration in the Benes Room of Ohio Wesleyan’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Avenue.
Jennette B. Bradley, the first African American woman in the nation elected as a state lieutenant governor, will deliver the keynote address.
Individual breakfast buffet tickets are $20, with eight-person table sponsorships available for $160. A printable reservation form is available online.