CELEBRATING MLK

Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in and around the city.

Despite coronavirus restrictions, events are scheduled throughout the region to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Sunday

Garfield creative hub Boom Concepts and Repair the World will host a virtual workshop on agitational art. Led by artist DS Kinsel, the workshop will go over temporary public art, how to express your voice in your neighborhood and how to create small-scale public art. The event begins at 11 a.m. Register at rpr.world/art.

Later that day, Boom Concepts, Repair the World and Dafna Rehavia, an artist, counselor and art psychotherapist, come together in a virtual activity, “Binds and Bonds: Processing Trauma with Art.” Ms. Rehavia will discuss how to creatively use household objects and give attendees a visual tour of her art installation at Boom Concepts. The event begins at 1 p.m. To register, visit rpr.world/boom.

Monday

The

Greater Pittsburgh

Community Food Bank celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with its ongoing campaign “Food justice is social justice.” The food bank will open its Duquesne warehouse, 1 N. Linden St., to 30 volunteers to prepare food for distribution across the organization’s 11-county service area from 9 a.m. to noon. To register to volunteer, visit pittsburghfoodbank.org. Also, the Hindu Jain Temple in Monroeville has agreed to match donations to the food bank up to $10,000 that day at pittsburghfoodbank.org/MLK.

Oakland arts and activism organization 1Hood Media will partner with Repair the World on a virtual learning and advocacy initiative for families at 9 a.m. Attendees will write letters to city officials advocating for the safety of all community members. To register, visit @RepairtheWorldPittsburgh on Facebook.

The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development to increase access for children and families to books

championing people of all abilities, genders, races, ethnicities and economic statuses. The Book Drive for Diversity is fully virtual, but you can register at uwswpa.org and select books to donate on behalf of the drive.

The United Way is also partnering with YWCA Greater Pittsburgh on virtual forums for parents in celebration of MLK Day. The first session, at 9 a.m., will focus on how to talk to children about race, led by Barbara Johnson, vice president of the Center for Race and Gender Equity at YWCA Greater Pittsburgh. The second session, at 11 a.m., will focus on social media as tools for social change, led by Candi Castleberry, vice president of diversity partnership strategy and engagement at Twitter. The second session is interactive, so participants are encouraged to have their smartphones handy. To register, visit uwswpa.org.

The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty will celebrate the ongoing impact of Martin Luther King Jr. with its broadcast “Living the Legacy” at 3 p.m. The program will highlight the work of Young, Black & Educated, founded by Treasure Palmer and Nicholas Anglin. The local group organized 16 Black Lives Matter protests in Pittsburgh over the summer. Artists Lost Culture Dance Crew and Jameelah Platt will also be featured along with performances from last year’s event from The Funky Fly Project, Balafon West African Dance Ensemble and K-Theater Dance Complex. Pay what makes you happy and register at kellystrayhorn.org.

Friday

Also going virtual this year is the 23rd annual Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit, running 5:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 22 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 23. The summit provides attendees with opportunities to learn more about racial justice issues and how to confront them. This year’s summit will offer over 20 sessions on topics including anti-racism, allyship in academia, environmental justice in Black neighborhoods, reclaiming sustainable self-care for activists and racial disparities in solitary confinement. Proceeds from registration, which ranges from free to $35, go toward the Jonny Gammage Scholarship Fund, which is awarded to law students of color interested in studying civil rights and social justice issues at Pitt or Duquesne University. To register, visit pittsburghracialjusticesummit.org.

Vanessa N. Gamble, professor of medical humanities at George Washington University, will speak as part of Carnegie Mellon University’s virtual speaker series on racial disparities in American policing and health care systems. Ms. Gamble will discuss the 1918 flu pandemic’s effects on African Americans and the racial dimensions of COVID-19 now. The virtual talk will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Register at cmu.edu/student-diversity/programs/MLK/.