Several community celebrations will be held to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Richmond area commemorations will kick off with the 38th Annual Community Leaders Breakfast 7:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center at Virginia Union University, 1500 N. Lombardy St.

Dr. Robert M. Franklin Jr., president emeritus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, will serve as keynote speaker at the event. Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Mayor Dwight C. Jones also are scheduled to bring greetings.

Dr. Franklin currently serves as the James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor of Moral Leadership at Emory University in Atlanta. In 2013, he was a visiting scholar in residence at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute.

Richmond resident and VUU alumnus Florence Neal Cooper Smith will receive the MLK Lifetime of Service Award at the event for her work as a pioneer in sickle cell anemia awareness.

For those interested in purchasing tickets to the event: (804) 342-3938.

Other area events celebrating Dr. King’s life and legacy include: