Preparations being made for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A press conference was held in South Bend on Friday to announce the upcoming Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast and Day of Celebration. This will be the 34th year the event is held.

There will be full lineup of events scheduled for MLK Day 2020 at the Century Center in South Bend.

“When you have a voice and the kids are reaching out to you and saying look here I am and here I stand,” Debra Walker said, the Outreach Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters in South Bend. “Give me an opportunity to show you that I am positive and I can do some wonderful things. That was Dr. King's ideas. He was a person that went out and showed what he meant and what he could do and to include all people of all races.”

Gladys Muhammad, a notable Community Leader, said that MLK Day is about bringing everyone together.

“We do it better than anybody in the country and it is proof that a community regardless of color or any other barrier that we can come together," Muhammad said. "That's why we love South Bend. We do come together that day. Republicans, democrats, gay, straight, black, white, Latino. We come together that day as living proof that we can live that dream of Dr. Martin Luther King.”

The Day of Celebration not only honors the famed civil rights activist but also highlights progress made in the community.

The events on MLK Day will include a blood drive, the celebratory breakfast and several civil rights workshops.

There will also be events leading up to MLK Day, which include the following:

• January 17: MLK Day Celebration at Memorial Hospital
• January 19: Celebration concert at Morris Performing Arts Center

The theme for MLK Day in 2020 is “Hear our Voices: Turn the Dream into Action.”

MLK Day is on January 20.