Essayist will speak about Dr. King at BCC

The life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored at events all over the Eastside, including an art exhibit exploring diversity and a lecture by a nationally known anti-racism leader.

Tim Wise will speak at Bellevue Community College on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Carlson Theater. Wise is an essayist, lecturer and activist who has written a number of articles challenging the interpretation of King's life and work, including what he calls the "misreading of King's dream" by opponents of affirmative action. He is senior adviser to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute in Nashville, Tenn.

Wise, one of the most prominent white anti-racist voices in the United States, has trained labor, government, corporate and law-enforcement officials on methods for dismantling racism in their institutions, organizers said.

King's birthday was made a national holiday 15 years after his April 1968 assassination. This year, it is especially important to spread King's message because the "dominant conservative political voice in the country has often attempted to co-opt the meaning and legacy of Dr. King's work," said Ron Taplin, associate dean of multicultural and student-success programs at BCC.

Wise will speak on the topic, "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: his relevance in the 21st century." The campus is at 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E.

At 7 p.m. Friday, BCC will hold a celebration of interfaith music with the theme "To The Mountain Top." It will feature spirituals, jazz standards, American art songs, Jewish and Christian music, Quranic chant in Arabic and Persian folk melody.

The event will also be in the Carlson Theater. For more information, call 425-564-2905.

The Redmond Toastmasters will have a free event to honor King and the civil-rights movement featuring speakers, photos and a history lesson at Group Health Eastside Hospital, 2700 152nd Ave. N.E. in Redmond. It will be from 7:45 to 9 a.m. Saturday in room B318 on the third floor.

The Exploring Diversity Media Arts Workshop will go on display Jan. 21 at Bellevue City Hall. A reception will be from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will be on the first floor of the building, 11511 Main St. in Bellevue.

Nearly 50 students used writing, photography and video production to explore the theme of diversity. The eighth- through 12th-grade students from Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland worked with professional writers, photographers and filmmakers to create their pieces.

In other events around the area, King's youngest daughter will be keynote speaker at a Seattle tribute. The Rev. Bernice King, who was 5 when her father was slain in Memphis, will headline the Seattle Community College District's annual King celebration at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Ave.

Other scheduled King tributes, all open to the public and free unless otherwise noted, include:

Today

• Harborview Medical Center's annual King celebration — this year's theme is "Dreams for the Future" — will be in the hospital cafeteria, 2-4 p.m. Harborview is at 325 Ninth Ave.

Thursday

• King County's MLK celebration, with presentation of humanitarian awards, music and other tributes, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle. • "Educating the Next Generation: The Dream Continues," observance by the University of Washington Health Sciences Center, with entertainment including the Eckstein Middle School Senior Jazz Band and Bailadores de Bronce Mexican folkloric dance group, presentation of the Distinguished Community Service Award to U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott and keynote speaker Dr. Alonzo Plough, director of the Department of Public Health — Seattle & King County, 11:30 a.m., Warren G. Magnuson Health Science Center, 1959 N.E. Pacific St., Seattle.

• Snohomish County's MLK celebration and community march, noon from Everett Community College, 200 Tower St., Everett, to the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett for a 12:45 p.m. rally. Speakers and entertainment, 7-8:30 p.m., Everett Civic Auditorium, 2415 Colby Ave., Everett.

Friday

• Black Heritage Society of Washington State's MLK celebration, with program featuring keynote speaker Oscar Eason, past president of Seattle Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and musical performance, 7 p.m., and extended hours and free admission at the museum with exhibits including "A Kaleidoscopic View: African American Lives in the State of Washington," rare photos and objects from 150 years of history by the Black Heritage Society of Washington State, 5-7 p.m., at the Museum of History and Industry, 2700 24th Ave. E., Seattle; free.

• YMCA presents "The Power of Non-Violence Now," showcasing teen speakers and performers sharing interpretations of King's legacy, 4:30-6 p.m., Meany Middle School, 301 21st Ave. E., Seattle.

• Seattle Young People's Project hip-hop show, with poetry, disc jockeys and dance, 7-11 p.m., The Vera Project, 1916 Fourth Ave., Seattle; suggested donation $3, or $2 and can of food.

Saturday

• King Classic, high-school basketball tournament with tributes to King. Games: Gig Harbor vs. Skyline girls, 11 a.m.; Garfield vs. Seattle Prep girls, 12:30 p.m.; Lincoln vs. Bellingham boys, 2 p.m.; South Kitsap vs. Mark Morris boys, 4 p.m.; Franklin vs. Seattle Prep boys, 5:30 p.m.; Snohomish vs. Bethel boys, 7 p.m.; open at 10 a.m. KeyArena, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; $10. (206-684-7200 or www.seattlecenter.com ).

Monday

• City of Seattle's official celebration with multiethnic choir, mayor's presentation of the MLK Youth Awards and commemorative reading of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech, noon-8 p.m., Seattle Center.

• Workshops, rally and march, sponsored by Martin Luther King Celebration Committee, workshops including several for youths, 9:30 a.m.; rally with speakers, poetry and music, 11 a.m., and march at noon starting at Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave., Seattle.

• Martin Luther King Day Networking Luncheon sponsored by TWJ Media, an entertainment company, with entertainment, food and guest speakers, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Salty's on Alki, 1936 Harbor Ave. S.W., Seattle; $35, by reservation (206-628-0888 or 206-748-1700).

• Worship celebration sponsored by Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches, with guest preacher the Rev. Dr. Leon Jones, retired Seattle pastor and American Baptist Churches executive; music by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church choir of Renton, and reception after the 6 p.m. service, at New Hope Baptist Church, 124 21st Ave., Seattle.

• Concert and readings in tribute to King and Mahatma Gandhi, nonviolence advocates, 7:30 p.m., East West Bookshop, 6500 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle.

• Northshore Interfaith Leaders Cluster's MLK walk in Woodinville. Walkers are invited to bring posters or banners with messages of justice, peace, race relations or quotes of Dr. King; materials to create posters available before the walk, 11 a.m., Wilmot Park, 17300 131st Ave. N.E., Woodinville.

• Federal Way celebration honoring King's contributions to humanity with the theme "Making a Difference." Keynote address by Sgt. Monica Hunter, the first African-American woman to obtain the rank of sergeant with the Washington State Patrol, and performances by the Ajabu African Dance Ensemble, the Fire and Ice Irish Dancers, The South Seas Dancers and the Clem Davis Ensemble, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Decatur High School Performing Arts Center, 2800 S.W. 320th St., Federal Way.

• City of Tacoma reception, 10-10:45 a.m., and program, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tacoma Dome, Tacoma.

• University of Puget Sound program, with keynote speaker the Rev. Leslie D. Braxton, senior pastor of Seattle's Mount Zion Baptist Church, 7 p.m., UPS Kilworth Chapel, Tacoma.

Starting next Tuesday

• Highline Community College's Martin Luther King, Jr. Week events, with lectures, discussions and programs exploring King's life and legacy on the theme "Combating the Three Evils: Racism, Poverty and Militarism." Discussion of Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine," 9-11 a.m. next Tuesday and 1-3 p.m. Jan. 22; keynote address by the Rev. Dr. Leslie Braxton, 11 a.m. next Tuesday; lecture by Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of the "Little Rock Nine," speaking about her experience as one of the first African-American students to desegregate schools in Arkansas in 1957, noon and 1:20 p.m. Jan. 21; panel discussion on homelessness with Real Change, 9 a.m. Jan. 22; campus forum on racial slurs, 10.a.m.-noon Jan. 23; interactive workshop on the power of nonviolence, 2-4.p.m. Jan. 23, Highline Community College, 2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines (206-878-3710, ext. 3256 ).

On the Web

A Seattle Times Web site devoted to the life of Dr. King: www.seattletimes.com/mlk

CALENDAR Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com

Listing compiled by Seattle Times news assistants Madeline McKenzie and Suesan Whitney Henderson, and staff reporter Charles E. Brown.