Rev. Jesse Jackson to speak at MLK celebration

Rev. Jesse Jackson will speak at the 2010 City of Bloomington Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration.

Jackson, who was a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., worked with him during the civil rights movement and was with King when he was shot.

“We are excited that the Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of America’s foremost political and Civil Rights leaders, will be our keynote speaker,”  Mayor Mark Kruzan said in a press release. “We welcome the opportunity not only to hear Rev. Jackson but to share with him some of things that make our community what it is and that help us perpetuate Dr. King’s life and legacy.”

The event will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, according to the release.

The event is preceded by a reception at 5 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church. The program and the reception are free and open to the public.