Pultizer Prize-winning writer to speak at King event

A community celebration and theatrical tribute to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be held at 6 p.m., Jan. 17 in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave., Rock Island). The free public event will celebrate the legacy of Dr. King with speakers, music and dance.

The 2015 celebration will focus on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Eugene Robinson will be the keynote speaker, due to support from the Stanley Erikson Lectureship in Public Affairs.

The celebration also will include performances by the Augustana Choir, Pentacostal Church of God Praise Dancers, Community Gospel Choir and a community mass choir.

Author of "Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America," Robinson shares with audiences his understanding of race relations in the United States and explains why many popular conceptions are now obsolete. His political commentary is heard on news programs such as MSNBC's "Hardball," "The Rachel Maddow Show" and NBC's "Meet the Press."

Robinson, a former assistant managing editor of The Washington Post, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for his columns about the 2008 presidential campaign and the election of President Barack Obama. His columns are syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group.