Tri-C Holding Virtual MLK Celebration

CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga Community College's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be held online this year.

The 44th annual celebration will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 17. The event will feature an assortment of musical performances, scholarship presentations and student speeches honoring King.

Registration for the free event is now open.

“Cuyahoga Community College understood early on the importance of honoring Dr. King’s dream of civil rights and racial harmony,” Tri-C President Alex Johnson said. “We come together in his memory to reflect on the power of collective action in fighting injustice.”

This year's musical performances will include prerecorded programs from the Tri-C Vocal Arts Youth Choir, the Cleveland Orchestra's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus, the Tri-C Orchestra, and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra.

Student speeches will be delivered by Kenzie Brown, of Olmsted Township, and Steve Primeau, of Parma.

The event will also feature Tri-C students being awarded scholarships from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Scholarship Fund.

Tri-C's MLK event is the longest-running MLK celebration in Cleveland. The tradition began in 1977, six years before the federal government designated a day to honor King.

The college's MLK celebration is usually held at Playhouse Square, but was moved online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are other local events celebrating King's life:

• Maltz Museum To Reopen For MLK Day Celebration
• Cleveland Orchestra Holding Virtual MLK Concert Celebration