but in 1983President RonaldReagan signed
the bill officially marking Dr. King's contri-
butions to America with a day dedicated to
hismemory.
InCanton Township:
Canton Township will once again honor
thememory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. with a special tribute at 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 at The Village Theater at Cherry
Hill, located at 50400CherryHill Road.
A display of artworks by area students
and a punch and cookie reception will
begin at the Village Theater at 6 p.m., fol-
lowed by the main program at 6:30 p.m.
This annual event is presented by the
Canton Commission for Culture, Arts, and
Heritage, members of the Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Sub-Committee, and Canton
Township. Admission to this special presen-
tation is $2 and reserved seats can be pur-
chased online at
-
ater.org.
This year will feature a panel discussion
of interfaith speakersincluding Pastor
DavidWashington, Jr., the founding and sen-
ior pastor of Canton Christian Fellowship
Church; Bill Secrest, a Zan Buddhist,
recently retired as the director of the Henry
Ford College Religious Studies Program;
Chandru Acharya, president of South Asian
American Voices for Impact and board
member of the Canton Interfaith
Community Outreach and teach at Canton
Hindu Temple Balgokulam; Saleem
Khallid, consultant to the Muslum
Enrichment Project, who gives khutbahs
and leads prayers throughout metropolitan
Detroit, and Paul Talwar, a member of the
Canton Interfailth Community Outreach
teamand teacher at the Gurdwara, who will
represent theSikh community.
The speakers will share the impact Dr.
King has had on their lives and the lives of
their faith communities. In addition, pan-
elists will comment on the Civil Rights
movement and its similarities to today, as
well as their strategies for fostering an envi-
ronment of peace in the community.
The program will also feature music by
the Workman Elementary School Choir
under the direction of Keri L. Mueller, and
dance by Kelsey Rose and Detroit Tap
Repertory.
Canton Township Officials John Anthony,
Terry Bennett, Phil LaJoy, Melissa
McLaughlin, Steven Sneideman and Patrick
Williams personally donated the scholar-
ship and awardmoney forwinners of the art
and essay contests.
Frames for the selected works were gen-
erously donated by IKEA Canton last year
and will be used every year to feature the
student work. The reception is sponsored
annually by Darian and Ralynda Moore of
KellerWilliamsRealty of Plymouth.
For more information about this special
performance and the latest exhibition in the
Gallery@VT, call (734) 394-5300 or visit
InRomulus
The annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
community celebration in Romulus will
take place beginning at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 18 at
Romulus Middle School when participants
willmeet for a celebratorymarch.
The event is organized by the City of
Romulus, the Romulus Ministerial Alliance
and the Romulus Community Schools and
will include the annual march from
Romulus Middle School, 37300 Wick Road
toRomulusHighSchool, 9650WayneRoad.
A continental breakfast will be served to
marchers in the Romulus High School cafe-
teria beginning at 8 a.m. and at 9:30 a.m. the
program will begin in the Romulus High
School auditorium.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact the Rev.
Arthur Willis, committee chairman, (313)
701-2423 or Ellen Craig-Bragg, (734) 955-
4545.
InWestland
Mildred Gaddis, one of Detroit's most
trusted and respected journalists and
award-winning news/talk show host, will
deliver the keynote address at the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day Ceremony in Westland.
The event will begin with a freedom walk
from John Glenn High School to the
Friendship Center at 9 a.m. Jan. 18. The
Friendship Center is located at 1119
NewburghRoad.
Participants are asked to gather at John
Glenn High School, located at 36105
Marquette Road beginning at 8:30 a.m. The
Freedom Walk will symbolize all of those
who marched with Dr. King 50 years ago.
The short walk will end at the Friendship
Center and continuous shuttles will be
available to return participants to their
vehicles.
The Friendship Center will open to seat
visitors at 9 a.m. for the 10 a.m. prayer
breakfast and ceremony.
Gaddis, a 40-year radio veteran, has been
described by the Detroit Free Press as one
of 10 African Americans to watch in Detroit.
Her sometimes no-nonsense, but warm and
inspiring style has made her a force to be
reckoned with and admired by politicians
and residents throughMetroDetroit. For 13
years she reigned as the only woman in the
male dominated morning drive 6-10 a.m.
slot.
“In this 21st century America the great
tragedy is still man's inhumanity to man,”
commentedGaddis. “I look forward to shar-
ingmymessage of hope with the proud resi-
dents of Westland, as they honor the life of
one of America's greatest sons.”
The Master of Ceremonies for this year's
celebration will be popular Detroit histori-
an Ken Coleman. Coleman, author of On
this Day: African-American Life in Detroit,
is a native Detroiter and former news
reporter and editor at the Michigan
Chronicle.
“Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a time to
honor Dr. King's life and legacy and reflect
on how we can best live up to his dream
today,” said Mayor William R. Wild. “I am
honored to be joined by such esteemed fig-
ures as our community pauses to celebrate
the life of this incredibleman.”
The programwill include messages from
local clergy and is being funded by the
Westland Police Community Partnership
Committee.
Formore information, call (734) 722-7628.
(Editor's note: Details of other community
eventswere unavailable at press time.)
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FROM PAGE 1
Tributes to Dr. King set in communities
Mildred Gaddis
