Interfaith council will host MLK celebration

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

A 60-person choir composed of members from six local churches with black congregations will be one of the highlights of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration hosted by the Las Vegas Interfaith Council for Worker Justice.

The event honoring the civil rights leader who was slain in Memphis in April 1968 will take place 7 p.m. Monday Jan. 17 at the Cashman Center Theatre, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North.

More than two dozen congregations have been involved in preparing for the event, Interfaith Council spokesman Michael Slater said.

The service will include readings of King's speeches and songs from the civil rights era sung by the large choir, Slater said.

A reception will follow the event.

Since 1983 the federal government has recognized the third Monday in January as King's birthday to give workers a three-day weekend. King actually was born Jan. 15, 1929.

In the 1960s King became the charismatic leader of the civil rights movement. Noted for his moving "I Have a Dream" speech and marches in the south and on Washington D.C., he and others drew worldwide attention to the plight of minorities in the United States.

A school and street in Southern Nevada are named for King. In the past 30 years communities nationwide have named streets and structures as a tribute to King.

The Las Vegas Interfaith Council for Worker Justice includes area clergy and congregations dedicated to improving conditions for working families in the community. The group also has organized Labor Day services for the last three years.

The Interfaith Council event is free. For more information, call Slater at 866-6008.