Grand Valley State University’s recognition of Martin Luther King Jr., Day kicks off today and extends through Saturday.

The week will open at 9 a.m. with celebration breakfasts in the Grand River Room of the Kirkhof Center and in Loosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center. After the breakfasts, there will be a silent march around campus at noon, followed
by a keynote address by Bakari Kitwana, author of “Hip Hop Activism in the Obama Era,” in the Grand River Room at 12:30 p.m.

Other events throughout the week include a keynote address on “Race, Migration and Social Justice” by Melanie Shell-Weiss, and two programs with civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander, who wrote “The New Jim Crow.” Kitwana and Alexander’s keynote addresses are LIB 100 and US 201 approved.

The week wraps up with a Day of Service on Saturday, which will send volunteers out into the area from 9 a.m. to 2:45 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., and civil rights activist Gloria Richardson.

The event is organized by the Community Service Learning Center and required pre-registration. For more information or to register, visit www.gvsu.edu/service.

Last year, 50 students participated in the Day of Service, which was spent at Comprenew, an electronics
recycling organization in Grand Rapids. Transportation, lunch and a t-shirt are provided to volunteers.

MLK Day was made an official U.S. holiday on Jan. 15, 1986, when then-President Ronald Reagan signed legislation making Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a national holiday to be celebrated on the third Monday in January.

For more information on GVSU’s clebration or the keynote speakers, visit www.gvsu.edu/mlk.