ANGOLA, IN - Though the COVID-19 pandemic is still preventing large gatherings from being held on the Trine University campus, organizers of the university's 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month Celebration felt the event was too important to cancel.

This year, that message will be shared in residence halls and living rooms instead of inside the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts. The event will be pre-recorded and will premiere at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 on the Trine Broadcasting Network, located at livestream.com/trinebroadcastingnetwork.

Rev. Donovan A. Coley Sr., head of The Rescue Mission in Fort Wayne, will deliver the keynote address, entitled, "What Would Dr. King Think Today?" He previously spoke at Trine's MLK event in 2017. The event also will include music by Niyoki Chapman, solo gospel artist and music minister at Union Baptist Church in Fort Wayne, as well as a university welcome from Trine University President Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., and a community welcome from Angola Mayor Richard Hickman.

Those unable to watch the live stream will be able to view the archived video on the Trine Broadcasting Network and the Trine University YouTube channel afterward.