Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations will be held throughout next week on and off campus.

A community birthday celebration will occur at 6p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, at the Ames Middle School (3815 Mortensen Road). The celebration will include a stories, songs, and skits in honor of King. Birthday cake will also be provided. 

Legacy convocation will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. The program will discuss King’s philosophy of global equality for everyone. Iowa State alumnus Arnold Woods III will serve as keynote speaker. Woods has been involved in both national and local branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The honorees of the “Advancing One” Community Awards also will be recognized.

Michael Eric Dyson is an influential black scholar, will hold a lecture titled “Race, Racism and Race Relation in America,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31. The event will be held at the Memorial Union Great Hall. Dyson is a University Professor of sociology at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. He authored 16 books, one titled: “April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Death and How It Changed America.”