Starting Jan. 15, Charlotte-Mecklenburg will celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of history's greatest champions of peace, pluralism and diversity, with a week full of events:

 Memorial and Wreath-Laying Ceremony

When: Noon, Jan. 15

Where: Marshall Park

Held in Marshall Park to commemorate the life and death of King, this year's event features community leaders Glenn Thomas and Jibril Huff, along with Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield.

 CMS MLK Art and Writing Contest Awards Ceremony

When: 6:30 to 8 p.m., Jan. 17.

Where: West Charlotte High School

Now in its 19th year, the annual Art and Writing Contest is a district-wide competition of students' work. School winners will be recognized, and district-level competition winners will be announced. All first-place winners receive an honorarium and have an opportunity to share their work throughout the community starting on Jan. 20.

 City of Charlotte MLK Holiday Parade

When: 11 a.m., Jan. 19

Where: North Tryon and 9th streets

The parade runs along North Tryon Street from 9th Street to Stonewall Street and features local high school marching bands, Junior ROTC, steppers, Greek letter fraternities and sororities, social and community service organizations, City and County elected officials and religious and community leaders. A special celebrity guest will serve as the parade marshal. All top performances will be awarded prize money totaling $6,000.

MLK Jr. and the second Emancipation Proclamation discussion

When: 2 p.m., Jan. 19

Where: Main Library, 320 N. Tryon St.

In 1961 and 1962, King appealed to President John Kennedy to issue a Second Emancipation Proclamation outlawing segregation in commemoration of the centennial of Lincoln’s proclamation of 1863.  He sent Kennedy a 75-page appeal on May 17, 1962 requesting a “national rededication to the principles of the Emancipation Proclamation and for an executive order ending segregation."  This program will review the elements of this document and its influence on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Holiday Prayer Breakfast

When: 8 a.m. Jan. 21

Where: Charlotte Convention Center

The H.L. McCrorey Family YMCA presents its 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast at the Charlotte Convention Center's Crown Ballroom. Tickets are $45 per person and are available at www.ez-tixx.com. Doors open at 7:15 a.m.

Dr. John David Smith lecutre

When: 2 p.m. Jan. 26

Where: Main Library, 320 N. Tryon St.

Dr. John David Smith will present a lecture “As firmly linked to ‘Africanus’ as was that of the celebrated Scipio”: Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation, and the U.S. Colored Troops.

 Smith is the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he teaches courses on the American South, the Civil War, and African-American slavery and emancipation.