MLK Jr. Community Celebration | University Office of Diversity & Inclusion

The MLK Jr. Community Celebration will take place on Sunday, January 14, 2024, at 6:00 P.M at the UNC Friday Center. Doors will open at 5:30pm with coffee and dessert. This event is free and open to the public.

The MLK Jr. Community Celebration features a keynote speaker, entertainment, the MLK/Edith Wiggins Scholarship presentation, and the Bridge Builders and MLK Jr. Citizenship Awards.

This year’s speaker will be the Honorable Beverly Scarlett. In 2007, Scarlett was appointed to the court by former Governor Mike Easley earning the distinction of as the first black female to become a District Court Judge in Orange County. She is a former prosecutor for our judicial district. She is an alumna of Orange County Schools. Scarlett received an undergraduate degree from Saint Augustine’s College and a J.D. degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

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History

In October 1993, the MLK Jr. University/Community Planning Corporation became a non-profit organization under the State of North Carolina laws. That same year, the MLK University/Community Planning Corporation began a fundraising campaign to endow the MLK Scholarship Fund with $250,000. To date, we have raised approximately $150,000 toward our goal.

The MLK Jr. University/Community Planning Corporation was established with a two-fold purpose:

To foster and promote coalition-building among and across the diverse racial and religious communities in greater Orange County by educating the community about the humanitarian ideals and legacy of the great American civil rights leader, the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
To establish an endowed fund that will be used to award educational scholarships and promote community-based activities that enhance racial and religious cooperation to pursue humanitarian efforts in greater Orange County.