Events include exhibits, commemorations and cleanups.

‘Red Earth Invocation’

Decatur’s Alabama Center for the Arts is featuring artwork by John “Jahni” Moore through Feb. 15. Moore is the creator of many murals and public works from Chicago to Colombia, where he twice was art ambassador. “Red Earth Invocation,” a branch of the “Southern Trees” series, is inspired by his adoration of Alabama red clay and reverence for his ancestors. His artwork is a sacrament on those pillars to reconnect to the sanctity of life. Follow this link to learn more. The exhibit is free. The center is at 133 Second Ave. NE.

“Red Earth Invocation” is on display at the Alabama Center for the Arts through Feb. 15. (contributed)

“Red Earth Invocation” is on display at the Alabama Center for the Arts through Feb. 15. (contributed)

“Red Earth Invocation” is on display at the Alabama Center for the Arts through Feb. 15. (contributed)

Birmingham Bulls 

The Birmingham Bulls will take on the Evansville Thunderbolts Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Pelham Civic Complex. Also, the annual MLK Day Game is Monday, Jan 16 at 1 p.m. There will be a mini-stick giveaway and skating with the team after the game. Tickets range from $15 to $30. Click here for the complete schedule. To learn more about season or group tickets, visit the website or call 205-620-6870.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival presents ‘Jubilee’

Playwright and director Tazewell Thompson brings a heart-stirring score to life with this a cappella tribute inspired by real life. The world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers have shattered racial barriers in the U.S. and abroad, entertaining kings and queens. For more than 150 years, the bold a cappella African American ensemble, born on the campus of Fisk University, has blended rich voices to share a heritage of suffering, strength and endurance. Hear uplifting spirituals and hymns like “Wade in the Water” and “Ain’t That Good News.” Performances run through Sunday, Jan. 29. Recommended for audiences ages 12 and older. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is at 1 Festival Drive in Montgomery.

Performances of “Jubilee” are underway through Jan. 29 at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. (contributed)

Alabama Symphony Orchestra

Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony explores the ins and outs of a country ravaged by war. Set in four movements, Prokofiev’s heroic work culminates with a poignant question, “What comes after victory?” Principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, Anthony McGill, will showcase his artistry in two works, Racine’s Concertino and the world premiere of a new Clarinet Concerto composed by Alabama Symphony Orchestra Music Director Carlos Izcaray. Come early on Jan. 13-14 to gain insights into the music “concert comments” at 6:15 followed by the concert itself at 7 p.m. The venue is in Birmingham at the UAB Alys Stephens Center.

Here’s the full program:

• Carlos Izcaray: “Geometric Unity.”
• Julio Racine: Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra.
• Carlos Izcaray: Clarinet Concerto (world premiere).
• Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5.

For ticket information, visit the website.

‘Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen’

Works by contemporary artist Manjari Sharma are paired with items from the historic collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMOA) in a striking exhibit that runs through Sunday, Jan. 15. The exhibition introduces nine of the most significant deities of the Hindu pantheon and their contemporary relevance in art and faith, serving as a gateway to the concept of darshan – seeing and being seen by the divine. The vibrant, varied and sometimes contradictory stories of these gods, as well as their familial relationships with each other, are shared through the works in the exhibition. All of the featured works, many of which had never been displayed to the public, are from the museum’s collection. “Expanding Darshan” is curated by BMOA’s Katherine Anne Paul, the Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art. Admission is free. Learn more here.

The “Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen” exhibit is at the Birmingham Museum of Art until Jan. 15. (contributed)

The “Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen” exhibit is at the Birmingham Museum of Art until Jan. 15. (contributed)

The “Expanding Darshan: Manjari Sharma, To See and Be Seen” exhibit is at the Birmingham Museum of Art until Jan. 15. (contributed)

Auburn University’s MLK Scholarship Breakfast

The MLK Scholarship Breakfast is a collaboration between the National Forum for Black Public Administrators East Alabama Chapter and Auburn University’s Office of University Outreach and Office of Inclusion and Diversity. The program will focus on Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” and will feature speakers from the community who are working to advance King’s legacy. Proceeds from the event will support three local high school students. The scholarship breakfast is Monday, Jan. 16 from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center. Residents of Auburn, Opelika and the surrounding community, including Auburn University administration, students, faculty and staff, are welcome to attend.

UAB’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration 

The Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion invites the public to attend the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration. Keynote speaker Paulette Dilworth, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UAB, will touch on the importance of King and her thoughts about this year’s theme, “Together We Can Be The Dream.” The event will include comments from Anupam Agarwal and Mona Fouad, with a performance from the Miles College Choir. A boxed lunch will be provided to the first 100 attendees. A Zoom option is available for anyone unable to attend on Friday, Jan. 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register here. The venue is at 620 19th St. S. in Birmingham.

The Revs. Fred Shuttlesworth, Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1963 Birmingham protests against segregation. (Encyclopedia of Alabama / Birmingham Public Library Archives)

Coretta Scott King (1927-2006, in sunglasses), the wife of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., with fellow activist Fred Shuttlesworth outside Birmingham City Jail, following her husband’s arrest for his part in the Birmingham campaign in April 1963. (Frank Rockstroh / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with Freedom Riders as they prepare to leave Montgomery. (Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Photo by Norman Dean, Birmingham News)

Martin Luther King Jr. outside the A.G. Gaston Motel in 1963. (Birmingham Police Department Surveillance Files, 1947-1980. Collection 1125, Archives Department, Birmingham Public Library)

From July 2, 1963, from left: National civil rights leaders John Lewis, Whitney Young Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer and Roy Wilkins pose behind a banquet table at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City as they meet to formulate plans for the March on Washington and to bring about the passage of civil rights legislation. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Athens Limestone Martin Luther King Jr. March, Essay and Art Contest

The program will start with a march at the Limestone County Courthouse at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16. Participants will march to the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives at 9:30 a.m. and hear essay winners read their essays and art winners present their artwork. Refreshments will be served at the museum. Follow on Facebook. More details can be obtained by calling 256-444-1300.

Wild Alabama MLK Day of Service

Give back to the Bankhead and Talladega National Forests on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Wild Alabama:

• Bankhead cleanup at Kinlock Shelter and Waterfall – Bankhead National Forest: Join Wild Alabama for a trip into the Historic Kinlock District of the Sipsey Wilderness. Explore the federally protected Kinlock Rock Shelter while removing trash. Later, the cleanup will move to the area around Kinlock Falls. If there is time, volunteers may be able to hike around a nearby trail. Email Lindsay Madison to sign up.
• Talladega cleanup at the Pinhoti (Heflin Spur) plus the National Freedom Riders Monument: Give back to the Talladega National Forest, learn about equitable access to wilderness and celebrate Alabama’s Black trailblazers. Volunteers will meet in downtown Heflin at 9 a.m. for the trash pickup along the Heflin Spur. After lunch, any volunteers who are interested can stay and visit the Freedom Riders National Monument in Anniston. Email Meg Ford to sign up.

Cleanups are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Follow the events on Facebook.

To honor Dr. King, Wild Alabama is offering service opportunities on MLK Day, Jan. 16. (Wild Alabama)

MLK Unity Breakfast in Birmingham

Enjoy the 37th annual MLK Unity Breakfast at the Boutwell Municipal Auditorium Monday, Jan. 16. Attorney Corey Minor will be the keynote speaker. Doors open at 7 a.m. For more information, email breakfast4unity@gmail.com or call 205-585-6463. Single tickets are $60. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Follow on Facebook. The venue is at 1930 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.

Throughout 2023 in “Bending Toward Justice,” Alabama NewsCenter is featuring stories about the events of 1963 in Birmingham and their impact on human rights.