ORONO — In recognition of Martin Luther King Day, a free online public webinar, “Being Black in Maine: Lived Experience and the Prospect for Change,” will be livestreamed from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, on YouTube.

The webinar, co-sponsored by the Greater Bangor Area Branch NAACP and the University of Maine Alumni Association, will include a sustained panel discussion, relevant short presentations and a special announcement of a new civil rights speaker series, according to a news release from UMaine News.

The panel discussion will include individuals who work or go to school in the state. The panel will be preceded by remarks from Michael Alpert, president of the Greater Bangor Area Branch NAACP; Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of UMaine and the University of Maine at Machias; and Jojo Oliphant, a member of the UMaine Alumni Association.

The program also includes presentations by UMaine alumnus and racial equity and justice educator David Patrick and UMaine student Tessa Solomon.

During the event, Alpert and John Diamond, president and CEO of the alumni association, will announce the establishment of the annual Robert Talbot Civil Rights Speaker Series. Named in honor of the longtime Maine civil rights leader from Bangor, the series will be held each fall on the UMaine campus and will feature one or more nationally prominent speakers.