The Greater Scranton MLK Commission will sponsor Sunday its annual celebration and awards dinner honoring the life, legacy and work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The theme of the event — which will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the fourth-floor McIlhenny Ballroom of the University of Scranton’s Patrick and Margaret DeNaples Student Center, 900 Mulberry St. — is “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” That was the title of King’s final book, published the year before the pioneering civil rights leader and advocate for nonviolence was assassinated in 1968.
“We have an incredible theme this year, and we chose that theme because right now in the environment that we have in our world we need to start paying attention to each other, being kind to each other and see what it is that we can do to make things better for each other,” Greater Scranton MLK Commission President Carole Mason said Friday.
The program will feature a luncheon followed by remarks by keynote speakers U. Melissa Anyiwo, Ph.D., an associate professor of history and director of Black studies at the University of Scranton, and Yerodin Lucas, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the school of social work at Marywood University.
Tickets will be available at the door for $25, Mason said.
Sunday’s event precedes a multifaith service planned for Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at Bethel AME Church, 716 N. Washington Ave., Scranton.
Sponsored by the Scranton Area Ministerium in cooperation with the MLK Commission, the service featuring leaders and representatives of various different faith traditions will begin at 7 p.m., Phil Yevics, a volunteer officer with the ministerium, confirmed Friday.
“It’s really a powerful service,” he said. “It’s worth being there for people that can make it.”
All are welcome to attend.
“Part of it is just to recognize the significance of Martin Luther King and his heritage for all Americans,” Yevics said. “His message of concern for the least among us and for equality and justice for all is something that we’re still moving towards and we still have a lot of room for progress. It is something that all Americans can benefit (from) if we tune into what Martin Luther King was calling us to.”
Other MLK events
Other, unrelated events are also planned locally in honor of MLK Day.
St. Joseph’s Center, for example, will host Monday a winter children’s clothing drive where residents can support local children and families by donating new or gently used winter clothing.
The center’s Baby and Children’s Pantry is in need of boys and girls winter clothing in sizes newborn through 10/12, as well as diapers in sizes 5 and 6 and pull-ups in sizes 2T-3T, 3T-4T and 4T-5T. The drive runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 320 S. Blakely St., Dunmore.
Then, on Tuesday, Penn State Scranton will host its annual MLK Day event in The View Café, located inside the school’s Study Learning Center Building, running from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free event is happening Tuesday because the campus is closed Monday as a result of the federal holiday.
This year’s event reflects the King Center’s 2026 theme, “Mission Possible II: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way,” according to Penn State Scranton.
Amber Viola, a local resident, mother, Navy veteran, social worker and community activist, will be the keynote speaker.