Local leaders to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with various programs, a reading

Bremen Keasey, Fond du Lac Reporter
·2 min read
Local community members and officials sing during an event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. in 2019 at the Fond du Lac City/County Building. The event, organized by Bishop Herb Haywood of the Bread of Life Church, will once again be held at 1 p.m. Monday, along with two other events to honor the legacy of King.
Local community members and officials sing during an event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. in 2019 at the Fond du Lac City/County Building. The event, organized by Bishop Herb Haywood of the Bread of Life Church, will once again be held at 1 p.m. Monday, along with two other events to honor the legacy of King.
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FOND DU LAC ‒ As part of celebration for Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, some local leaders are holding events to honor Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy as well as a long-time, former county executive.

Bishop Herb Haywood Sr., who leads the Bread of Life Church, said he and government officials, law enforcement and community leaders are planning an event at the Fond du Lac City/County Building to celebrate the day and also celebrate the honorary street-naming for former county executive Allen Buechel, who passed away unexpectedly in March.

Haywood said the event will start at 1 p.m. in the City/County Building, 160 S. Macy St., with a program that will include speakers, gospel music and poetry reading. It will culminate with attendees heading outside to the corner of Macy and Second streets, where city staff will unveil an honorary street naming for Buechel.

Haywood said the event is symbolic because East Second Street ― which the city in 2016 honorarily named Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. ― will intersect with the street that will be honorarily named for Buechel. Before Buechel passed away in March, he was the longest-serving county executive in the state, leading Fond du Lac County for 29 years.

Haywood said Buechel "championed" the push to honorarily name East Second Street after King — one of just five streets in the state of Wisconsin named after King.

Prior to the Monday holiday, the Fond du Lac Ministerial Association (FAMA) will host a community worship service celebrating the "vision, spirit and legacy" of King at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul at 51 W. Division St.

The service will include contributions of music, readings and prayers by representatives from various Christian congregations across Fond du Lac. There will be a collection taken to support the Broken Bread Food Pantry.

The event will also be livestreamed from WFDL.TV, an online station.

MLK Day events at Marian University

Marian University will host two events on Monday to mark the federal holiday.

The first is a community prayer breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Stayer Center Dining Room on campus, 45 S. National Ave.

Rodney Bourrage, the executive director of Ebony Vision in Fond du Lac, will be the keynote speaker at the event. Although the deadline to pay and register to attend the event in person has passed, the event will also be livestreamed on WFDL.TV.

Additionally, Marian University staff will also mark the federal holiday with a live reading of King's "I Have A Dream" speech from noon to 12:30 p.m. Monday at Dorcas Chapel on camps.

The free event, led by George Koonce, Senior Vice President of University Relations, will feature 20 Marian University staff and community members reading the famous speech.

Contact Bremen Keasey at 920-570-5614 or bkeasey@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Keasinho.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Fond du Lac events include services, reading