Edmonds College will host a free Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Thursday, Jan. 20 for both the campus and community. Join the college virtually via Zoom from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. as the college community celebrates the life and teachings of Dr. King with an inspirational message from keynote speaker Christian Paige.

The theme of this year’s celebration is “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which was the title of singer-songwriter Sam Cooke’s greatest and most influential composition. Cooke drew inspiration for the song, written and released in 1964, from both his own experiences with racism and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Dr. Amit B. Singh, Edmonds College president adds, “We proudly welcome Christian Paige to our college to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. The poetry of Mr. Paige continues to reinforce Dr. King’s message of change. I remain hopeful that working together, listening and learning from each other will bring about the change we all want and need to continue building a community where everyone is welcome.”

Paige is an Emmy-nominated spoken word poet, a professional speaker and educator who speaks at schools, conferences and events around the U.S. Paige has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people and loves to work with young people who are committed to doing good in the world.

Paige is a first-generation college graduate, an Actsix Scholar and passionate about community, anti-racism, equity, and empowerment. He has spent his entire career in and around education advocating for historically marginalized populations and working to create equitable environments where young people can thrive.

Paige was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington where he currently lives and teaches.

You can watch the virtual program at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85491656049. For more information, visit edmonds.edu/mlk.