Events throughout Eastern Iowa to honor MLK's legacy

CEDAR RAPIDS - In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Each One Reach One AmeriCorps members and the Foster Grandparents Program will have an event for families of deployed military members.

This event will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at Faches Center, Linn Room, Correctional Services Complex, 951 29th Ave. SW.

There will be refreshments, fellowship and entertainment, as well as a presentation of handmade fleece blankets and a goody bag of gifts for kids. The blankets were made with help from AmeriCorps, Foster Grandparents and the ARC of East Central Iowa. Additional gift bags and blankets will be presented to the Army Family Readiness Program for unit distribution.

For more information, contact keely.hinkel@iowa.gov.

Church honors King's legacy with annual event

CEDAR RAPIDS St. Paul's United Methodist Church will hold an annual Martin Luther King Jr.

Celebration Service at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 1340 Third Ave. SE.

This year, a special message for children is included as well as the formal recognition of members of the newly established Civil Rights Youth Advisory Panel.

Keynote speaker Karl Werner will share innovative approaches he uses in Cedar Rapids schools to help students understand the importance of diversity in learning.

His programs have garnered many accolades and awards around the country.

The Martin Luther King Planning Committing also will recognize this year's Percy and Lileah Harris 'Who Is My Neighbor' award recipient. This award recognizes someone with a lifelong faith commitment to living in harmony with others and to promoting equality and social justice in the community.

The Chorale Midwest, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church Men's Choir, and the Gospel Choir from Johnson Elementary School of the Arts also will perform.

For more information, call (319) 363-2058 or go to http://stpaulsumc.org.

Sew-in celebrates community service

CEDAR RAPIDS American Sewing Guild Cedar Rapids Chapter will hold its seventh annual Sew-in for Community Service from 9 a.m.

to 3 p.m. Monday at Community of Christ Church, 1500 Blairs Ferry Rd., Hiawatha. There will be American Sewing Guild signs. This is open to the public. Take sewing machines or sergers and a basic sewing kit including thread, needles and pins.

Fabric for some simple and quick projects will be provided or take a charity project.

Take a sack lunch or be prepared to buy lunch nearby.

For more information about American Sewing Guild, see www.asg.org.

For more information about this event or the Cedar Rapids Chapter, send an e-mail to ASG.CedarRapids@gmail.com or find the group on Facebook.

Mark MLK day with a service project

IOWA CITY - In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy for civil rights, AmeriCorps and the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County and Parkview Church will host a 'Day of Service' from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday at The Spot, 1030 Crosspark Ave.

The event's agenda is as follows:

1 p.m.: Salvation Army Children's Choir performance

1:30 p.m.: Service projects begin

2:30 p.m.: Lunch

3 to 4 p.m.: Kevin 'BF' Burt and Voices of Soul performance

4 p.m.: Closing ceremony

UI presents 2 weeks of events honoring King

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa has planned activities for the Martin Luther King Jr.

Celebration of Human Rights, which runs Mon day to Jan. 28. The opening celebration takes place at 6 p.m. Monday in the Main Lounge of the Iowa Memorial Union.

Judge Odell McGhee II, associate judge of the 5th District of Iowa and the first African-American elected as president of the Iowa Judges Association, will give the keynote speech.

Master of ceremonies will be Idris Goodwin, spoken word artist and poet. Entertainment will include a performance by the Langston Hughes Company of Players, a local minority theatrical troupe directed by McGhee that presents the history of African America through music, dance and the written word. The UI gospel choir Voices of Soul, The Quire, UI Breakers and the Youth United Drill Team also will perform.

This year, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service will focus on hunger and homelessness that affect the Iowa City and Coralville communities.

Donations of food and personal items will be accepted at locations on campus to benefit Shelter House and the Crisis Center of Johnson County's food bank.

Donations also will be accepted at four local Hy-Vee grocery stores on Monday. For a list of needed items and dropoff locations, see http:// mlk.uiowa.edu/day-ofservice.

Michele Norris, author and co-host of National Public Radio's 'All Things Considered,' will speak on the topic 'Say What? The Hidden Conversation about Race' from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Prem Sahai Auditorium of the Medical Education and Research Facility.

All events are free and open to the public. Selected activities scheduled at the UI campus are listed below.

For more information and a complete listing of all Human Rights Week events, visit http://mlk.uiowa.edu.

Events are as follows:

Wednesday

Brown Bag Lunch, 'Tuskegee Airmen' film screening and discussion, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Room 2390, University Capitol Centre.

Panel presentation, UI Center for Human Rights' Kenneth J.

Cmiel Funded Human Rights Internship Program, 2:30 to 4 p.m., 1117 University Capitol Centre.

Community of Color, community-building event for new and returning students, 4 to 6 p.m. Van Oel Multipurpose Room, Currier Hall.

Film screening and discussion: 'Pushing the Elephant, ' which chronicles the story of Rose Mapendo, who in 1998 was separated from her young daughter, Nangabire, during ethnic conflict that arose in the Democratic Republic of Congo; 7 to 9 p.m. Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A.

Thursday

Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., UI Hospitals and Clinics, John Pappajohn Pavilion Lobby, near Elevator I on level 1.

Friday

UI Health Care Human Rights Week Diversity Resources Fair,

9 a.m. to 3 p.m., UI Hospitals and Clinics, 8th Floor East Room.

Lecture on the Infant Oral Health Program by Dr. Karin Weber-Gasparoni, founder and director of the UI Department of Pediatric Dentistry, presented by the Johnson County Department of Public Health and UI College of Dentistry, noon to 1 p.m., Oral B Seminar Room (N212), Dental Science Building.

Panel presentation, UI Center for Human Rights' Kenneth J.

Cmiel Funded Human Rights Internship Program, College of Medicine, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., MERF.

Jan. 25

'Fierce Conversations, ' a dialogue on diversity issues on campus, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Women's Resource and Action Center.

Lecture and discussion by Ki-Hyun Kim from the Department of Rehabilitation and Counselor Education, 6:30 p.m., Asian Pacific American Cultural Center.

Jan. 26

'What about the Women?' an event to engage and educate participants on the various feminist waves and movements, 6 p.m., Asian Pacific American Cultural Center.

Jan. 27

'Food for Thought: Is the Dream Still Alive, ' a dinner and a discussion forum focusing on the famous Martin Luther King Jr. 'I Have a Dream' speech and how college students are currently upholding that dream today, 6 to 8 p.m., Afro American Cultural Center (Afro House), 303 Melrose Ave.

Jan. 28

Martin Luther King Jr. Research Symposium, noon to 2:30 p.m. N300 Lindquist Center, Jones Commons.