Martin Luther King Jr. celebrated

Published 7:55 pm Tuesday, January 21, 2020

The 32nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration was held at Riverland Community College  on Monday evening, honoring the contributions King made to economic justice, according to a press release. It was an evening of music and thoughtful reflection.

After a welcome by Mayor Vern Rasmussen Jr. and an invocation by the Rev. Kurt Farrel, Elisha Marin sang “Finlandia,” a song of peace, and “Shining Out,” an original composition by Marin written as a response to the shooting of nine Americans at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Maggie Moller was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship. An excerpt of Eva Barr’s play “Wilson Girl” was read by Carley Talamantes, Marissa Vogt, Sam Yoon and Jim Haney.

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Three high school students, Leah Dup, Maray Lopez and Emma Barclay, performed a song of women’s courage, “Warrior.”

As is tradition, the program closed with the audience rising and singing “Let There Be Peace on Earth” in beautiful harmony, the release stated.