Various events held to honor MLK this week

The Ethnic Student Center at Western Washington University is holding a series of events this week to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on campus.

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, a panel of faculty and staff will engage in open dialog at the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity in the Miller Hall basement. That event is title "Valuing Our Voices: 'Let Us Speak!'"

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, the main celebration event will take place on the Communication Facility lawn. Participants will march from there to Red Square for a candlelight vigil, which will be followed by the "What's your vision: A Night of Expression & Growth" event at 7 p.m. in the Underground Coffeehouse. This is an opportunity for the Western community to share stories about their own personal vision in comparison to the vision of Dr. King.

These events are put on by the Ethnic Student Center, the Black Student Union and the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity.

Related events:

• The MLK Human Rights Conference takes place Saturday, Jan. 14, at Whatcom Community College's Syre Student Center. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.; the event is free. The keynote speaker for the "Reawakening Dreams, Empowering Communities" event is Dexter Gordon.
• From 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Ethnic Student Center and the Associated Students Social Issues Resource Center will show the documentary film "Precious Knowledge" with filmmaker Eren Isabel McGinnis. This event takes place in Academic Instructional Center West Room 204.