Indiana Wesleyan University will host its fifth annual MLK Celebration honoring Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday, Jan. 12. The special community-wide event will honor King’s legacy with scripture and song throughout the day.
To start the celebration, a chapel service at 10 a.m. will include songs and a message, featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama, who are hailed as “gospel titans” by Rolling Stone and praised by the Washington Post for their “soul-stirring harmonies” and “range of cross-genre collaborations.”
Later, community members will come together at 7 p.m. for the MLK Celebration Concert called Living the Dream. The gospel music concert will feature performances by the Grammy-winning Blind Boys of Alabama. Recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music, the Blind Boys of Alabama have a 70-year recording career marked by five Grammy Awards (plus one for Lifetime Achievement), collaborations with greats such as Stevie Wonder, Prince, Lou Reed and Peter Gabriel, as well as television appearances and performances on some of the world’s most renowned stages.
“Spreading a message of hope and reconciliation is a daily goal for our community,” said Diane McDaniel, vice president for Multicultural Enrichment and Employee Development at IWU. “This special event allows us to foster that message as we come together as one and celebrate a diverse Christian community.”
The MLK Celebration Concert is free of charge and will take place in the Phillippe Performing Arts Center on IWU’s residential campus. To reserve free tickets, visit https://www.indwes.edu/events/mlk/ or call the IWU Box Office at 765-677-2610.