Lightfoot's MLK celebration honors community leaders propelling civil rights legacy, racial justice [View all]

From a coat giveaway for needy children to cleanup of a garden honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., you’ll have many ways to honor the legacy of the revered civil rights leader across Chicagoland this weekend. His birthday is Friday. The holiday is Monday.

In a pandemic, some events we’ve come to expect annually, like the Museum of Science and Industry’s annual Black Creativity Family Day, are cancelled. Others, including the Chicago mayor’s 35th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Celebration, have gone virtual.

This year, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s event, open to the public, is to be keynoted by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former judge and City Council member and a Democratic Party rising star who was on the short list to be named vice president by President-elect Joe Biden.

Bottoms, who led Census and housing efforts for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, rose to prominence last year in clashes with Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp over her COVID-19 mask mandate for Atlanta. She turned down Biden’s offer of a Cabinet-level position last month, reportedly as head of the Small Business Administration.

Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/1/14/22231178/martin-luther-king-holiday-lightfoot-celebration-honors-community-civil-rights-legacy-racial-justice