Creighton’s MLK Week Set for Jan. 10-15

Creighton University will celebrate and discuss the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during its annual MLK Week, with a series of events Jan. 10-12 in advance of the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday, Jan. 15.

All events are open to the public. Event details are below and can be found on Creighton’s MLK Week website, along with links to register.

On Wednesday, Jan. 10, Creighton will host a unity prayer breakfast beginning at 8 a.m. in the Mike and Josie Harper Center, Ahmanson Ballroom. The event will include welcome remarks by Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for the breakfast buffet.

Creighton’s Martin Luther King Jr. Committee will present its annual Drum Major Award, which honors an Omaha community member who has served as an advocate for social justice or as a religious or spiritual leader.

This year’s recipient is Ira F. Combs, founder and former chief executive officer of North Omaha Area Health (NOAH), which provides free or low-cost health services, personal health screenings, health classes and support groups in the community.  

The Rev. Dwayne Hawkins, pastor at Antioch Baptist Church, will give the keynote address at the breakfast. 

On Thursday, Jan. 11, a panel discussion on this year’s MLK Week theme, “Reclaiming Dr. King’s Legacy,” will be held in the Harper Center, Hixson-Lied Auditorium, beginning at 3 p.m. Nneka Jones, a second-year Creighton law student, will serve as moderator. Panelists are:

• Nichelle Horton-Brown, MD, president and CEO, Endeveren Family Medicine
• Wayne Brown, president and CEO, Urban League of Nebraska Inc.
• Oluseyi “Seyi” Olowalafe, Olowolafe Law Firm, LLC
• Yvonnda Summers, JD, associate dean of student affairs, equity, diversity and inclusion, Creighton School of Law

On Friday, Jan. 12, the Black Law Student Association will host a forum beginning at noon in the Creighton law school, room 124, titled “Reclaiming the Dream.”

The panel discussion on Jan. 11 and the forum on Jan. 12 will both be livestreamed, as well as in person. Creighton community members and the public are invited to register for any of the three events on Creighton’s MLK Week website.

Only individual registrations will be accepted this year for the unity prayer breakfast (no table registrations). The deadline to register has been extended to Tuesday, Jan. 9. Registrations for the panel discussion and the forum will be accepted up until the day of the event.

Creighton will be closed on Jan. 15 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.