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Auburn University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week to feature speakers, service opportunities

Auburn University will offer several campus-wide events and service opportunities as part of its Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week Jan. 20-24.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Reclaiming the Dream: A New Vision For the Future.” The week will kick off with a breakfast featuring keynote speaker civil rights activist Bernard Lafayette. The event will take place at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 20 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. The cost is $35 per person.

“With this annual week of celebration, we honor the legacy and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and encourage all in the Auburn-Opelika community to further the ideals he imparted through active engagement and service for the betterment of our world,” said Ada Wilson, assistant vice president for access and inclusive excellence.

As part of the week’s celebration, a day of service opportunity will be offered at 11 a.m. Jan. 20 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference in partnership with the East Alabama Food Bank. Participants will assist with packing weekend and overnight book bags for children who experience hunger. Individuals interested in volunteering can register here.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m., Auburn’s Critical Conversations Speaker Series will continue with a talk by Eddie Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. For more information on that series, go here.

On Wednesday, Jan. 22 a “Lunch and Learn” focused on the topic of “Financial Freedom as a Form of Social Activism” will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Haley Center, room 1403. The featured speakers for that event are Kiersten and Julien Saunders, personal finance experts and co-creators of the award-winning blog “rich & REGULAR.” A second “Lunch and Learn” event on “Race in America: A Reflection of the Last Decade” will occur from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23 at Auburn’s Cross Cultural Center for Excellence in the Student Center.

The final event of the week involves a community service outreach effort at the East Alabama Food Bank from 7 to 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 24.

For more information and to register for the MLK Celebration Week events, go to http://ocm.auburn.edu/mlkweek/.

This story originally appeared on Auburn University’s website.

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)

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