Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Jan. 18, and Otterbein University and Westerville are offering virtual opportunities to honor the legacy of the civil rights icon.    

Otterbein will honor Rev. King’s legacy throughout the week with Racial Healing Circles — facilitated conversations with diverse groups of individuals to help them connect across their common humanity: what kinds of experiences, hopes and dreams are shared across the “identity” lines that sometimes divide people. 

Racial Healing Circles will be held throughout the week of Jan. 18-22, and additional sessions are scheduled during spring semester. 

The Office of Social Justice and Activism will send invitations for Racial Healing Circles to students by Jan. 15, or students can email trht@otterbein.edu to learn more and participate.  

Leadership Westerville will host the 16th Annual Westerville Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 18. This year’s theme is “The Moral Imperative to Love.” Otterbein students attend the event each year. This year, all students are invited to participate remotely. Register online for the free event. 

Following the theme from the morning event, Father Joseph from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Westerville will lead a virtual conversation and discuss practical applications to living out the moral imperative to love by leading with love. This free, virtual event will start at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18. Learn more and register for this event. 

On Jan. 25, the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) will honor Dr. King’s legacy with a service project kit that students can pick up, complete at home, and return to the CCE. The “Pac the Mac & More” kit can be picked up from 12:30–2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25 at the Promise House Takeover at The Rock.  

Volunteers will use supplies to assemble study kits for the children of a local community food pantry. The kits will have a mini composition book, MLK pencil, and “desk pet” made from clay by Otterbein students. Each kit will also contain a snack and a handwritten postcard with a quote from Dr. King.