Participants in a YWCA Piqua reading circle didn’t just read the biography of Coretta Scott King. They used the experience as the launching point for a community program remembering her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Five years later, the King community event continues on Jan. 21 with a program that includes music, a high school student’s award winning essay and a presentation on nonviolent communication.

Members of the Racial Justice Reading Circle attempt to incorporate a variety of presentations “to keep the event interesting and fresh and to honor the memory” of Dr. King, said Linda Grimes, a former YWCA staff member and volunteer reading circle facilitator.

“From the beginning the committee tried to involve all races and members of the community,” she said.

This year’s keynote speaker is Jeff Brown, executive director of Compassionate Communication of Central Ohio. The nonprofit organization shares the principles and practices of compassionate nonviolent communication as developed by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg and inspired by teachings of Gandhi and King.

The program also will include reading of a Piqua teen’s essay that won first place in an Ohio Civil Rights Commission 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Art, Writing and Multimedia contest. Christin Libbee will read her essay. She is a Piqua High School junior and student at Upper Valley Career Center.

Grimes will serve as event emcee. Activities will begin at 1 p.m. Jan. 21 at the YWCA.