HONORING MARTIN LUTHER KING

Thursday marks the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Several memorial events are planned in the city:

At 8:30 a.m., a local street will be renamed “1968 Strikers Lane,” in honor of the Memphis sanitation workers strike that ended 12 days after King’s assassination. There will be a march immediately following the renaming, from AFSCME Local 1733 at 485 Beale to the National Civil Rights Museum at 450 Mulberry Street, where there will be a rally.

At 10 a.m., the AFSCME will hold a labor union rally in the courtyard of the National Civil Rights Museum featuring 25 speakers, including the union’s international president, Lee Saunders, as well as Al Sharpton, and Jacob Flowers from the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.

At noon the National Civil Rights Museum will host a panel discussion titled “Labor Unions: Then and Now” in its Freedom Sisters Building, 115 Huling St. Speakers will include local and national AFSCME leaders as well as 1968 sanitation worker Alvin Turner.

At 5:30 p.m., the National Civil Rights Museum will begin its commemorative wreath-laying ceremony at the museum. Speaker will be Rev. Keith Norman of First Baptist Broad Church, with a performance by the Elite Chamber Choir.

At 6:30 p.m., the April 4th Foundation will host its 13th Annual Commemorative Awards Banquet to honor those who have continued to work in the spirit of King’s mission. Dinner is $100/person.

From 7 to 10 p.m., Common Ground and the Brooks Museum of Art are co-presenting a public screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary chronicling King’s life and work, “King: A Filmed Record ... Montgomery to Memphis.” Admission is $8/$6 for students, Brooks members or Common Ground Alumni.