Appleton event to honor Martin Luther King

APPLETON - The Appleton community plans to honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday evening.

The 22nd annual event is organized by Lawrence University and Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, with the support of several other Fox Valley groups.

The scheduled keynote speaker is Rev. Wanda Washington, founder of Grace United Church of Christ in Milwaukee. Organizers say her address, “Hope is a Dangerous Thing,” will use the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” as a backdrop. She is set to discuss the importance of “tunneling through today’s challenges” and always remaining hopeful no matter how difficult a situation may be. Washington previously spoke at the 2010 event in Appleton.

The event also includes Toward Community’s presentation of its annual Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Award, four students reading their winning essays in the annual Martin Luther King essay contest, musical performances by Lawrence student Zoie Reams and university organist Katherine Hanford, and a tribute to the life of Dr. G. Manns, a local pastor who died Jan. 8.

The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, with a reception for all in attendance following the event. It is free and open to the public.