PORTLAND – Maine’s observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day begins this week with several events, including an address Wednesday by an author and activist who has tried to spread the message of peace evoked by the slain civil rights leader.

Sonia Sanchez will speak at the University of New England’s 15th annual King Day celebration, one of a number of events throughout the state held in conjunction with the Jan. 21 holiday.

Sanchez says the power and importance of the man she refers to as “Brother Martin” have rightfully made him into an icon.

“His ideas speak to the liberation of all oppressed people and the possibility for brotherhood on this earth; what it means to be human,” she said.

At Wednesday’s event in Portland, Sanchez will share her poem, “A Letter to Dr. Martin Luther King,” and discuss what it means to be a “rainbow warrior for peace.”

Sanchez, 63, is author of 16 books and six plays. In 1995, she won the American Book Award for her novel “Homegirls and Hand Grenades.” Her most recent work, “Does Your House Have Lions?” which chronicles her brother’s losing battle with AIDS, won her a nomination for both the National Book Critics’ Circle Award and the NAACP Image Award.

Today, the Greater Bangor NAACP’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, “Keeping the Dream Alive,” will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the University of Maine’s Wells Commons. Tickets are on sale at the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine in Bangor and other locations. The cost is $5 for students and children and $10 for adults. For information, call 827-4493.

On Jan. 21, Dr. Ali A. Mazrui will speak on the NAACP’s nationwide theme of the year, “Speaking Truth to the Power,” at Portland’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast.

Mazrui is the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He also is a professor-at-large at the University of Jos in Nigeria.

“Martin, Malcolm and America,” a keynote address by James H. Cone, will be held at Bates College in Lewiston on Jan. 21. Cone, the author of 11 books, is a pioneer in the black theology movement, which relates black religious thought to the struggle for social and economic justice.

Colby College in Waterville will commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. with a dramatic performance Monday, Jan. 21, and a 24-hour video marathon beginning at noon Sunday, Jan. 20, in the Pugh Center of Cotter Union. On Monday, Jim Lucas will perform his dramatic one-man show, “Reflections,” in which he portrays the life and times of King through renditions of King’s speeches. That event will be held at noon in the Page Commons Room of Cotter Union and is open to the public free of charge.

A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine, 170 Park St., in Bangor. A potluck supper and general assembly meeting will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. AmeriCorps of Bangor will help with the potluck supper, followed by an exercise to raise awareness of the ideals and legacy of King. After the exercise, the film “An Amazing Grace: Doctor Martin Luther King” will be shown. The program is free. For information or child care, call 942-9343.