La Crosse, Wisconsin · Since 2009
MLK Community Celebration
Honoring the legacy. Uplifting local leaders.
Continuing the work together.
The celebration is free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of donors, sponsors, and community partners.
Monday, January 18, 2027
Viterbo University Fine Arts Center
5:30–6:30 PM — Community Tables & Networking
Come early to connect with local organizations, explore community resources, learn about services and programs, and discover meaningful ways to get involved throughout the year.
Light refreshments will be available.
6:30 PM — Main Theater Opens
Guests are invited to begin taking their seats as music by The Mayfield Experience begins.
7:00–8:30 PM — MLK Community Celebration Program
Join us for an evening of reflection, inspiration, music, community recognition, and a shared call to action.
The program will include:
• Welcome and community reflections
• Performances
• MLK Leadership Award recognition
• Keynote speaker
• Closing and call to action
Free and open to the community.
Celebration Schedule
5:30–6:30 PM
Community Tables & Networking
Explore local organizations, resources, opportunities, and ways to get involved.
Light refreshments provided.
6:30 PM
Main Theater Opens
Music by The Mayfield Experience begins.
7:00–8:30 PM
MLK Community Celebration Program
Welcome
Performances
Leadership Awards
Keynote Speaker
Closing
How Will You Join Us?
The MLK Community Celebration is built by community. Whether you join us for the evening, recognize a local leader, share resources, volunteer your time, or help keep the celebration free, there is a place for you in continuing the work.
Attend the Celebration
Gather with neighbors from across the region for an evening of reflection, recognition, music, storytelling, and community connection.
Nominate a Leader
Help us recognize youth, college students, and adult leaders whose courage, service, and leadership reflect the spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
2027 nominations close November 1, 2026.
Host a Community Table
Schools, nonprofits, faith communities, service organizations, and community partners are invited to share resources, programs, opportunities, and meaningful next steps with attendees.
Volunteer
Help us create a welcoming and meaningful experience before, during, or after the celebration.
Can't Join Us in Person?
The MLK Community Celebration will also be livestreamed so community members throughout the Greater La Crosse area and beyond can participate.
Livestream information will be shared as the celebration approaches.
Watch the Livestream
About the Celebration
Since 2009, the MLK Community Celebration has brought people across the Greater La Crosse region together to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and recognize those carrying his work forward in our own community.
The celebration is rooted in Dr. King's vision of the Beloved Community—a community shaped by justice, dignity, compassion, courage, service, and collective responsibility.
Through leadership recognition, youth voices, storytelling, music, reflection, and community connection, we are reminded that Dr. King's legacy is not simply something we remember. It is something we continue.
Our Community Impact
Since 2009
Celebrating Dr. King's legacy locally
Hundreds
of community leaders recognized
Thousands
of community members engaged
Every Year
youth leadership elevated and honored
Across the Region
partnerships strengthening the Beloved Community
Do not add additional numbers unless we have verified documentation.
2027 Keynote Speaker
The 2027 MLK Community Celebration will feature keynote speaker Muhibb Dyer, a motivational educator, speaker, and youth advocate whose work centers on resilience, purpose, healing, and helping young people move through pain toward possibility.
His message aligns deeply with the spirit of the MLK Community Celebration: courage, service, justice, love in action, and the ongoing work of building the Beloved Community.
Recognizing Leadership in Our Community
Each year, the MLK Community Celebration honors local leaders whose courage, compassion, service, leadership, and commitment to community reflect the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nominations for the 2027 celebration are open through November 1, 2026.
Award Categories
The Lynda Blackmon Lowery Youth Leadership Award
Recognizing a young person who demonstrates courage, compassion, leadership, and service in their school or community.
The William “Bill” Coleman College Leadership Award
Recognizing a college student advancing justice, belonging, service, and leadership through campus or community involvement.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award
Recognizing an adult leader whose work reflects service, equity, courage, and lasting community impact.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
2026 MLK Community Celebration Honorees
We are honored to recognize the 2026 MLK Community Celebration honorees for their courage, service, leadership, and community impact.
Lynda Blackmon Lowery Youth Leadership Award
Amaya Emler
Central High School
The Lynda Blackmon Lowery Youth Leadership Award
Presented by: Quartell Roberson
William “Bill” Coleman College Leadership Award
Courtney Chambers
Western Technical College
The William “Bill” Coleman College Leadership Award
Presented by: The William “Bill” Coleman Family
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award
Vincent Hamilton
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Adult Leadership Award
Presented by: Henry Greengrass
These honorees remind us that Dr. King’s legacy continues through everyday acts of courage, service, advocacy, and love in action.
2026 Youth Nominees
We also celebrate the youth nominees recognized as part of the 2026 MLK Community Celebration.
These young leaders represent courage, promise, creativity, and hope for the future of our community.
Ava Bowman
Chloe Drury
William Flottmeyer
Abigail Holthe
De’Ahjanaya Malone
Emya Martin
Brock Needham
Emma Raymus
Ruben Smith
Malik Thompson
Dulce Tinoco Vazquez
Nou Qu Yang
Past MLK Leadership Award Honorees
We are proud to recognize the individuals who have received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award since the celebration began in 2009. Each honoree reflects the enduring call to serve, lead, and build the Beloved Community.
Roberta Stevens — 2009
Thomas Harris — 2010
Andrea Hansen — 2011
Maureen Freedland — 2012
James Parker — 2013
William "Bill" Coleman & Dempsey Miller III — 2014
Barbara Stewart — 2015
Nahoua “Tony” Yang — 2016
John Medinger — 2017
Nathaniel “Nate” Coleman, Jr. — 2018
Shaundel Spivey — 2019
Tracy Littlejohn — 2020
Amanda Goodenough — 2021
Antoiwana Williams — 2022
Bridget Todd-Robbins — 2023
Willem Vanroosenbeek — 2024
Henry Greengrass— 2025
Vincent Hamilton — 2026
Bring Your Organization Into the Conversation
Community organizations, nonprofits, schools, faith communities, and service-based partners are invited to host a table during the 2027 MLK Community Celebration.
Community Tables connect attendees with resources, programs, services, volunteer opportunities, and meaningful ways to continue the work beyond the celebration.
Help Keep the Celebration Free & Open to Everyone
The MLK Community Celebration has remained free and open to the public because we believe Dr. King's legacy belongs to everyone.
Sponsors, donors, and community partners make it possible to recognize local leaders, uplift youth, welcome the community, and create an accessible and meaningful gathering year after year.
Become a Sponsor
Organizations and businesses can invest in leadership, youth, community connection, and the ongoing work of building the Beloved Community.
Make a Community Gift
Every gift helps keep the celebration free and open to the public. Gifts of every size are welcomed and appreciated.
$25 can help support printed event materials.
$50 can help support community hospitality and event materials.
$100 can help support youth leadership recognition.
$250 can help support event signage and community engagement.
$500 can help support event production and accessibility.
Planning Committee
The MLK Community Celebration is made possible by community members who generously contribute their time, leadership, experience, and commitment to carrying Dr. King's legacy forward.
Committee Chair:
Dr. Carolyn Colleen Bostrack, PhD, MBA
Current Committee:
Antoiwana Williams
Maureen Freedland
Richard Kyte
Willem Vanroosenbeek
John Horman
Quartell Roberson
Vanessa DaughterofLois
Jill Miller
Ashley Nowak
Anouk Goreta
Keith Knutson
Lauren Harris
Bridget Todd-Robbins
Laura Abellera
Thank You to Our Community Partners
We are grateful to the organizations and community partners whose support helps make the MLK Community Celebration welcoming, meaningful, accessible, and free to the public.
Greater La Crosse Area Diversity Council (GLADC)
Couleecap, Inc.
Congregation Sons of Abraham
School District of Onalaska
Marine Credit Union
Great Rivers United Way
First Congregational Church
Trust Point
UWL Foundation Inc
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse
Stay Connected
The MLK Community Celebration is more than one evening each January. Stay connected throughout the year for celebration updates, leadership award nominations, honoree announcements, volunteer opportunities, community engagement, and ways to continue the work together.
Together, We Continue the Work
Dr. King's legacy is not only something we gather to remember. It lives through the ways we choose to lead, serve, welcome, advocate, connect, and care for one another.
Whether you attend, nominate a leader, volunteer, share community resources, sponsor the celebration, or serve others in your everyday life, you are helping build the Beloved Community.
We hope you will join us on January 18, 2027. The celebration is free and open to everyone. No RSVP is required, but if you know you're coming, letting us know helps us plan.
Contact Us
For questions about the celebration, nominations, sponsorship, or community tables, please reach out to the planning committee.