December 30, 2023

Martin Luther King III, son of the late civil rights icon, will make a special appearance at Metropolitan Community College’s 2024 Chancellor’s Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Luncheon. The event, which raises funds for student scholarships, is set for 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at the Loews Kansas City Hotel downtown.

To purchase individual $200 tickets, or to learn about other sponsorship opportunities, visit mcckc.edu/mlkluncheon.

At the event, King will engage in an onstage conversation with Lisa Ginter, CEO of CommunityAmerica Credit Union, the luncheon’s presenting sponsor. Organizers say the discussion will center on King’s continuation of his family’s legacy and work for equality; the current state of the American civil rights movement; and how Kansas City business and civic leaders can “Be Part of the Dream.”

King, 66, is the oldest of three surviving children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. He was 10 when his father was assassinated at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968, in Memphis. The human rights advocate and humanitarian would serve as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization his father founded, from 1997-2004. King and his wife, Arndrea, lead the Drum Major Institute, which works to advance the core mission and legacy of MLK Jr. King III is a graduate of Morehouse College.

Attendees of MCC’s MLK luncheon will receive a copy of King III’s children’s picture book, “My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” compliments of the Kansas City Royals. They can keep it as a memento or give it to a child in their life.

Five student winners of the 2024 Chancellor’s Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship — good for a full year of Metropolitan Community College tuition — will be introduced at the luncheon, and the MCC Foundation will honor the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Bob Kendrick with its Alvin Brooks Kansas Citian Inspiration Award.

News anchor Kevin Holmes of KSHB 41 will serve as emcee for a second year.

In its first five years as a community-wide, off-campus event, the College’s annual MLK luncheon raised more than $600,000 for MCC student scholarships.

For questions about the 2024 event, visit mcckc.edu/mlkluncheon or call the MCC Foundation at 816.604.1195.