Community members are invited to gather on the CC campus to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s events center around the theme, “It Starts with Me: Cultivating a Beloved Community Mindset to Transform Unjust Systems.”
CC is continuing its tradition of hosting a community-wide celebration in King’s honor, gathering in-person for the first time in three years.
On Monday, Jan. 16, the community is invited to begin the day with the All People’s Breakfast and social hour from 7:30-8:30 a.m. in Ed Robson Arena. Reserve your seat now at Eventbrite. The breakfast is followed by a keynote presentation featuring speaker Mike Edmonds.
Edmonds currently serves as the senior vice president at Colorado College, where he has been since 1991. He served as acting co-president for the 2020-21 academic year, making him the first African American person to lead CC. Edmonds has been a dedicated change agent in the Colorado Springs community and served on numerous nonprofit boards.
At 10:15 a.m., participate in a Unity March, hosted by the Pikes Peak Diversity Council, from the CC campus at the corner of Cache La Poudre and Tejon St., to Acacia Park, where the program features local dance and musical performers and guest speaker Sharon Tunson. A long-time Colorado Springs native, Tunson graduated from William J. Palmer High School and earned an M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado. Tunson’s family has been integral in the growth in Colorado Springs and she continues the movement. She is the assistant dean of High School Programs at Pikes Peak State College.
The world-renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will wrap up the day’s events at 7 p.m. in the Mohrman Theatre in Armstrong Hall, with special guests, the Colorado Springs Chapter Choir of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, also performing.
All events are free and open to the public. The All People’s Breakfast is presented free of charge thanks to the generous support of Bon Appetit Food Service, Colorado College, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and EDC, The Edmondson Foundation, UC Health, and USAA. The full program of events and additional information is available here.