U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., will kick off a day of events commemorating Martin Luther King Day in Birmingham on Monday, where Alabama's newest senator will be the guest speaker at the MLK Unity Breakfast at the BJCC North Exhibition Hall.

The Magic City is also hosting events during the weekend leading up to the federal holiday that honors the slain civil rights leader.

The breakfast gets underway at 7 a.m. Monday with a performance by the MLK Unity Choir. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is set to introduce Jones, a former federal prosecutor who secured convictions of two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Tickets cost $40 and are available at the BJCC ticket office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Jones' speech will center on "the sacrifices made by Dr. King and many others in the fight for equality, and our responsibility to honor their legacy by rejecting hatred and instead working together to make Alabama a better place for all," a spokesman for the senator told AL.com.

The unity breakfast is the first of a number of events that honor King's legacy on Monday. For more information on the breakfast, call Aaron Carlton at 585-6463.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which opens at 9 a.m. Monday, is offering free admission. The institute, at 520 16th St. North, is also seeking volunteers for King Day. More information is available here.

At 10 a.m. Monday, members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity will honor King during a wreath laying ceremony at the King statue in Kelly Ingram Park. A march in tribute to King will start in the park at 11 a.m.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity will host a Community Day of Service Health Fair at 801 46th St. North. Free flu shots, blood pressure screenings and eye checks will be among the services provided.

The Negro Southern League Museum is offering free admission from 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. The museum, at 120 16th St. South, explores the role of baseball in the civil rights movement.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is scheduled to hold a civil rights rally at Boutwell Auditorium at 12 p.m. King was the first president of the organization.

At 2 p.m. at Boutwell Auditorum, the SCLC and Birmingham-area churches will feed the homeless and seniors during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Love Feast. For more information on the feast, call 780-3515 or 324-8202.

Starting on King Day and running throughout the week, the Ballard House Project will hold a pop-up exhibit, "Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy. Reframed and Exhibited'' from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m at 1420 Seventh Ave. North. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m., the Avondale Library will be hosting Erin Mauldin of Samford University for a talk on environmental racism during "Begin the Day: The 15th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture." The lecture is free and open to the public. More information is available here.

There are also events before King's birthday is celebrated.

At 7 a.m. on Saturday, the MLK 5K Drum Run starts at Kelly Ingram Park. Registration for the run closed on Wednesday.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, youth from across the Birmingham area will gather at Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church at 2301 Avenue E for activities connected to achieving King's mission.

On Sunday at 5 p.m., Grammy winners The Blind Boys of Alabama will join choirs from Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University and Birmingham-Southern, Miles and Talladega colleges along with an orchestra conducted by UAB professor Henry Panion III for a King tribute concert at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center at Jemison Concert Hall. Ticket prices for the concert range from $24 to $44. Tickets can be purchased by calling 975-2787.H