Jackson College Reschedules 2022 MLK Celebration for March 19

(January 17, 2022 2:05 PM) After a postponement, Jackson College has rescheduled the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration for Saturday, March 19 in the Victor Cuiss Fieldhouse. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

This year’s event will focus on “The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.: Purpose, Commitment, Justice.” The keynote speaker will be Paula Autry, senior vice president and chief executive officer of Henry Ford Health System’s Central Market and president and CEO of Henry Ford Allegiance Health. Autry provides leadership and direction over the entire clinical and financial enterprise of HFAH and the HFHS Central Market, which encompasses seven counties. Before joining HFHS in 2019, Autry was CEO of Lutheran Hospital of Indiana in Fort Wayne, and from 2014-17 served as CEO of Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit.

Monica Pierce, a longtime educator and Jackson resident will receive the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Service Award. As Principal of Instruction at Jackson High School, Pierce has come to be known as “Momma Pierce,” for her commitment to wanting the best for her students just as she does for her own family. She is Jackson High’s first African American, female principal for instruction, and under her guidance, multiple programs have been put in place to help students and staff succeed. Before this, she was an associate principal at JHS where she was instrumental in the success of several student initiatives. She taught English for 11 years, 10 of them at JHS, before transitioning to associate principal at the Middle School at Parkside.

In addition, local performer Larry Sumner will provide musical entertainment for the evening.

Tickets

Tickets for the rescheduled 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be $35 general admission and $25 for youth and senior citizens. Tickets are available from the Potter Center Box Office at 517.796.8600 or online at www.jccmi.edu/mlk22. Masks are required on campus; please check the College’s COVID-19 protocols at https://covid-19.1.jccmi.edu/.