City begins 4 days of events honoring MLK
Martin Luther King Community Committee hosts scholarship banquet tonight, further ceremonies throughout the weekend
WOONSOCKET – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Kasim Yarn will be the keynote speaker at tonight’s Hinson Scholarship Banquet, kicking off a four-day celebration organized by the Martin Luther King Community Committee and its partners to mark the birthday of the slain civil rights leader.
A decorated Navy commander, Yarn was appointed by Gov. Gina Raimondo as the state’s first director of veterans affairs about two years ago after the General Assembly authorized the cabinet-level director’s position years earlier.
Yarn joined the U.S. Navy in 1991 at age 18 and reported for basic training less than 24 hours after graduating from high school. He first moved to Rhode Island in 1995, where he was assigned to Naval Station Newport and met his wife, Rosaria. While living in Rhode Island, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s degree from Newport’s Naval War College. He completed four deployments, including missions in Europe and support missions in the Middle East as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
A strong advocate for veterans’ services, Yarn earned multiple service awards during his military career, including four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, a Good Conduct Medal and several campaign and service awards. He and his wife live in Saunderstown.
The scholarship dinner traditionally marks the
beginning the MLK Community Committee’s celebration of Martin Luther King Day. The Hinson Scholarship is named for the late Rev. J.W. Hinson, founding pastor of St. James Baptist Church.
This year the dinner has a new venue – the Millrace Event Space, 40 South Main St. NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, the nonprofit community development organization that owns and operates the site, partnered with the MLK Community Committee and Citizens Bank to sponsor the the 17th annual, weekend-long tribute to King’s life.
“Our annual MLK weekend gives everyone a chance to be involved,” said MLK Committee member Emma Dandy. “It is great to see everyone come out and work together. It really shows the unity that is here in our community”
Tickets for the dinner are $30 and can be purchased at St. James Baptist Church. Proceeds from the event will support two scholarships for two students who have made strong contributions to the community.
This year’s lineup of celebratory events includes a community service compo- nent that is designed to underscore the theme of the celebration: “What are you doing for others?” On Saturday, from noon-3 p.m., all are invited to St. James Baptist Church, 340 South Main St., to help launch a year-long project whose goal is to establish a network of tiny food pantries, or “Blessing Boxes.” The outdoor food dispensaries will be made accessible to the homeless and food insecure throughout the community. Volunteers will work to create the Blessing Boxes from old newspaper boxes.
They’ll be stocked with bottles of water, granola bars and other ready-to-eat foods. Plans called for each of the repurposed newspaper boxes to be “adopted” by local churches, businesses, and social service agencies, whose congregation and staff will help keep the boxes filled all year long.
Volunteers are encouraged to bring packaged snacks, drinks and toiletries to the event to start filling the the boxes.
“It is better to give than receive,” said St. James Bapist Church Deacon Thomas Gray. “The service project that is part of the MLK weekend this year gives us all a chance to give throughout the year. We hope the community comes out strong to support the Blessing Boxes that will ensure that no one in our cityb goes hungry.”
On Sunday, there will be an Interfaith Worship Service at St. James, led by special guest Rev. Tom Wiles of the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island. b
The MLK Community Committee will cap the celebration at 11 a.m. Monday with a memorial service at the MLK Memorial Sculpture Garden, located at the junction of South Main and Mason streets. State and local officials will speak at the event, followed by a reception at St. James Church.
“We hope the whole city joins us in celebrating Dr. King by showing up to one of the four events this weekend,” said MLK Committeewoman Carol Wilson-Allen.