Celebration Organizers Use the Internet to Promote Martin Luther King Holiday

The Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday has been an important event in Raleigh for 15 years. This year, the celebration committee is using the Internet to promote the activities.

One of the celebration's organizers, Bruce Lightner, hopes theWeb sitewill make a difference.

"More and more people across the spectrum can take a look," said Lightner.

And what they will find is impressive The entire celebration program is online, in addition to facts about King and the history of the holiday.

This year, there will be more emphasis on improving race relations, including a discussion in which conservative viewpoints will be heard.

"One of the criticisms of even the president's commission is that that element of society was not given an opportunity to be a part," said Lightner.

The website lists all the celebration events and even maps from almost anywhere in the state.

The 15th year of the holiday celebration in Raleigh is planned as the biggest yet.

"We think this will be a special year for a number of reasons, getting ready to go into a new century. In fact, we're already making plans for King 2000, so this is going to be a special year," said Lightner.

You can see just how special it will be by visiting theDr. Martin Luther King Holiday website.

This year's celebration begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, with a ceremony at the Martin Luther King Memorial Gardens in Raleigh.