World of Wellesley invites everyone to its Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day community events, which will this year take place virtually on Monday, Jan. 18.

MLK Day, Wellesley — Members from the WHS Cheer Team were on hand in 2020 to celebrate MLK Day with dance.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee will use the pandemic as an opportunity to bring the community together to not only talk about the phenomenal legacy of Dr. King, but to also engage in a series of virtual events focused on “Good Trouble: More Than Just a Day—A Call to Action.”

Schedule of Jan. 18, 2021 MLK Day events:

Good Trouble Virtual “Breakfast:” 8:30am – 10am

Good Trouble: Art Workshop, Grades K-7, 12:30 – 1:30pm
Student art will later be displayed at the Wellesley Public Library.

Good Trouble: Book Group, Grades 8-12 – 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Book groups will be facilitated by Wellesley Public School Students and focus on a short piece from Sterling Hayden’s Wanderer.

Family Story Time: Family event – all ages 2:30pm – 3:10pm
Children and families are invited to listen together to the story of Vitamin D and Me – How Humans Outsmarted the Sun, an amazing story of how and why human beings have different color skin tones.

RSVP here.

What a difference a year makes

This time last year the WOW-sponsored MLK Day Breakfast at Wellesley College received extensive media coverage. The breakfast at Alumnae Hall was the place to be to honor King, the late civil rights activist who in the 1950s and 1960 led non-violent protests to demand the rights of African Americans.

Approximately 200 Wellesley community members attended the 2020 event including Wellesley College President Paula Johnson; Massachusetts State Senator Becca Rausch; Massachusetts State Representative Alice Peisch; all five members of the Wellesley Board of Selectmen; the chiefs of both the Wellesley’s Fire and Police departments; and many others.

The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College then made their traditional appearance, and members of the Wellesley High School Raiders Cheer Team, coached by Odessa Sanchez, performed an energetic routine.

In addition, there was a panel presentation led by Christina Horner, current co-president of WOW. Featured social justice advocates included Tina Opie, Associate Professor of Management at Babson College and a Visiting Associate Professor at MIT’s Sloane School of Management; Annawon Weedon, an enrolled member of his mother’s Mashpee Wampanoag tribal community located on Cape Cod and awardee of a Congressional Honor as Culture Bearer for the New England region; and Mo Nuñez, an award-winning music producer, educator and activist.

Info on WOW’s countdown to MLK Day.