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By Ayanna Eckblad

The Peace and Justice — MLK Committee on Monday will host its 37th annual Martin Luther King Celebration. It will begin at 5 p.m. with a social time in the main entrance of Riverland Community College Albert Lea campus, and it will move to the lecture hall for the program at 5:30 p.m.

The theme for the night is “Justice for all.”

During the social time at the start of the evening, live music will be provided by the band Eighth Hour featuring Albert Lea High School language arts teacher Jeremy Corey-Gruenes. Pizza and refreshments will also be served.

The program will begin with a welcome by Albert Lea Mayor Rich Murray and an invocation by Eileen Woyen, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Albert Lea and First Lutheran Church in Glenville. Mark Anderson will emcee the event.

This year the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship awards will be presented to two students, Rosa Coey-Gruenes and Vivian Nguyen.

The keynote speaker of Monday’s event will be Dan Donnelly, an attorney in Austin.

Mary Hinnenkamp, a member of the Peace and Justice — MLK Committee, said the committee selects a theme and keynote speaker each year based on relevant happenings in the world. For example, she said, in war time, they might invite someone to speak on peace and justice. At one point, she said, during a time of Islamophobia, the event had a keynote speaker from the Muslim community.

“Our issue is always to give voices to the people who seem voiceless … who need their voice in the arena,” Hinnenkamp said.

Donnelly was asked to speak at this year’s MLK event because of his experience with immigration law. Hinnenkamp said Donnelly’s speech will focus on remembering King and his legacy but also have information about immigration. Depending on the amount of time left, Donnelly may also have a question and answer session following his speech.

“I think there’s a lot of fear out there. I think there’s a lot of concern,” Hinnenkamp said. “Hopefully this will shed a little light.”

The program will close with Diane Heaney and Albert Lea High School student Selah Griffith leading a selection of songs.

Hinnenkamp said it is important to hold the Martin Luther King event every year because it can be easy to forget what the day is all about.

Similar to President’s Day, she explained, it is easy for both students and adults to think of MLK Day as just a day they do not have to go to school or work. As a teacher, she liked having school in session during MLK Day because it gave her the opportunity to talk about King and his work to her students.

“King talked about love and peace and justice and working for the common good. And I think that’s always important,” she said.

Hinnenkamp also stated that King’s message continues to hold relevance today. People, she said, have a tendency to categorize those who are different from them as “others,” which can lead to treating them in ways that are un-Christlike.

“You look at the economic disparities in our country,” she said. “We are at a time of choice in America. What kind of country are we going to be?”

Hinnenkamp said everyone is welcome to attend the event. It is free to attend, but donations are welcome.