Rock Island community center hosts Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service
The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center will host the 41st annual memorial service and awards celebration in honor of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 15, from 10:30 a.m. until noon, a news release says. The theme for this year’s event is “Walk together, march forward.”
The service will take place in the Martin Luther King Center’s Ida Robinson Banquet Room, 630 9th St., Rock Island, and will be live-streamed via YouTube and Facebook. A recording of the event will be available afterward.
West End Revitalization Steering Committee Member Marisa Cantu will emcee the event. The program will include a variety of performances and presentations in honor of King, including:
A keynote address by the Rev. Dwight Ford
- “I Have A Dream Award,” presented to a Rock Island citizen for outstanding community service
- M.L. Lockhart Scholarship
- Black Hawk College Commitment to Diversity Scholarship
- Youth Expression Contest awards
- Musical selections.
For more information, call 309-732-2999.
The Rauch Family Foundation has granted funds to support this event.
About the center
The Martin Luther King Center inspires greatness in the Quad Cities through community-building, education and service. Major programs currently include substance use prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, Family Advocacy Center, free after-school and summer programs for children ages 6-14, a variety of clubs for people of all ages, free tax preparation assistance, four annual events for the community, and backbone support for the West End Revitalization.
About Rev. Dwight Ford
Ford is currently the executive director of Project NOW, a community action agency that serves low-income families and seniors in Rock Island, Henry, and Mercer counties. Prior to serving at Project NOW he was executive director of the Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership and executive director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Rock Island. He was born in Crystal Springs, Mississippi and raised in Rock Island. Upon graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and successfully completed a six-year military career that included Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm service tours. He is an ordained Baptist pastor and Founded Grace City Church in Rock Island.
Ford earned a bachelor of arts degree from Western Illinois University and a master of divinity degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a doctoral student in a dual program at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is married to Dr. Kit Ford, and they have two children, Imani and Justice.
