Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with these local virtual events

The community is not letting the pandemic stop celebrations of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Like a lot of events during this pandemic, MLK Day celebrations are virtual this year. But, you can be a part of events miles away that you wouldn’t normally get to participate in.

Here is a list of events:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Parade, 10:30 a.m. in Lexington
• Martin Luther King Jr. Lynchburg Community Council’s virtual celebration at 1 p.m. Live streamed on Facebook and Instagram from the Academy Center for the Arts.
• ‘MLK: In His Own Words’ virtual event at 6:30 p.m. hosted by Roanoke County Public Library and Book City Roanoke. The event focuses on Dr. King’s five most famous speeches and the letter he wrote while in Birmingham Jail. Register here.
• Virginia Tech hosting series of virtual events with live keynote speakers Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcom-X’s daughter, Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother and Nikki Giovanni, poet and professor at Virginia Tech. For more information, click here.

Students, faculty and staff at Virginia Western Community College and Radford University are making sure Dr. King’s legacy of doing good in the community isn’t forgotten in the midst of the pandemic.

Virginia Western launched a virtual day of service where students create messages for seniors, active members of the military and veterans. The day also features a series of virtual events and discussions including a keynote speech by Dr. Judith R. James. The community is welcome to the online events, to register click here.

For its 8th annual MLK Day of Service, Radford University is partnering with the Community Foundation of the New River Valley. Academic colleges and divisions are in teams to raise money for one of five nonprofits in Roanoke or the New River Valley

Benefiting organizations include Friendship House, Women’s Resource Center of the NRV, The Giving Tree Food Pantry, Beans & Rice and New River Community Action. Here is the giving site.

For other ways to celebrate the national holiday, click here.