Kathy Counts-Pollard, of Kansas City, Mo., leads choir practice on Saturday at the Calvary Church of God in Christ, 646 Ala. As part of this year's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Community Gospel Extravaganza will be Jan. 20 at Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship Church, 700 Wakarusa Drive. The extravaganza will feature music sung by adult and children's community choirs. Some of it will be gospel and some will be from the civil rights movement.

The Rev. William Dulin remembers the racial prejudice he experienced as a black teenager in 1950s Lawrence.

“There used to be a drug store on the corner where a flower shop is now. I couldn’t even go in there and get a Coke and sit at the counter and drink it,” said Dulin, pastor at Calvary Church of God in Christ, 646 Ala.

Memories of those experiences are why it is important for Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement to be remembered and celebrated each January, said Dulin.

The Lawrence Ecumenical Fellowship will present the 23rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration from Jan. 17 through Jan. 21. This year’s theme is “One Dream, One World, One Community.”

That celebration will be marked with a blend of music, stage performances and speakers, all focusing on King and the civil rights movement.

The highlight of the celebration will be on Jan. 21, the date of the national King holiday. Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston, pastor of the Boone Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Mo., will be the keynote speaker at the community service. It will be held in Murphy Hall’s Crafton-Preyer Theater on the Kansas University campus.

Thuston and his church have been involved in a number of urban programs designed to help the needy.

On the morning of Jan. 21 Bernie Kish, director of facilities and lecturer in health, sports and exercise science at KU, will be the guest speaker at the MLK Community Breakfast. Kish will talk about John B. McLendon, a protege of James Naismith who became the first black physical education graduate at KU and who went on to an outstanding college and pro basketball coaching career.

The breakfast is a new event this year for the King celebration. It will be at 7 a.m. at Maceli’s, 1031 N.H. There is a $10 charge at the door.

“One of the things we’ve tried to do with this celebration is to try to broaden it and try new ventures and see how it works,” said Dulin, chairman of the MLK celebration planning committee.

This year’s celebration will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in the new South Junior High School, 2734 La., with the MLK Educational Program. Students from schools throughout Lawrence will talk about special community service projects they have been involved in, what they’ve learned, and how it relates to King’s life, legacy and this year’s celebration theme.

On Jan. 19 there will be two stage performances of a play, “The Light of Education,” at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. A matinee will be at 1 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. performance.

The play was written by Lawrence resident Cherisa Williams. It will feature a cast of about 35 people, including those who play the historical characters of Mary Bethune, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Langston Hughes and others.

“I kind of used the format of ‘A Christmas Carol,'” said Williams, who has written religious-themed plays. “Ghosts take students and travel through time with them and show them the different themes that have happened in trying to obtain a quality education for everyone.”

The price of admission to the matinee is $10 for adults and $5 for students kindergarten through age 12. The evening play is $15 for adults and $5 for students.

At 6:30 p.m. Jan. 20, the Community Gospel Extravaganza will be held at Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship Church, 700 Wakarusa Drive. There is no charge.

The extravaganza will feature music sung by adult and children’s community choirs. Some of it will be gospel and some will be from the civil rights movement.

“Music has always had a big part in the civil rights movement,” Dulin said. “To me, music keeps the spirit of the people up. Some of the songs during civil rights spoke the sentiments of the heart.”

The choirs will be directed by Kathy Counts-Pollard, of Kansas City, Mo. She directed the MLK choirs a few years ago.

“If you have ever been denied service because of the color of your skin then you feel like this celebration needs to go on,” Dulin said. “We need to let future generations know that history forgotten is history repeated.”