Events planned for the annual observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day will focus on efforts to create a world where “injustice and inhumanity ceases and love and peace with justice prevail,” his daughter said.
“We are witnessing unprecedented loss of human life and especially among the Black, brown and indigenous people throughout the world,” said the Rev. Bernice King, CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change. “Yet, we continue to sit in silence, turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the glaring truths of this reality.”
King made note of the ongoing conflicts across the world, including in Gaza and Ukraine.
“The calling for a ceasefire, along with providing ongoing humanitarian aid, as well as, the freeing of the hostages can all coexist,” she said. “It does not have to be one or the other.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
MLK Day is Jan. 15, which would have been her father’s 95th birthday.
Events include a 10 a.m. service that day at Ebenezer Baptist Church with a keynote address by the Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley. The service will be streamed online.
Prior to the holiday, a reception is planned for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at The King Center, where Bernice King will sign “Coretta,” the children’s book based on her mother, the late Coretta Scott King.
A two-hour virtual summit has been scheduled for Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 to study Martin Luther King’s words and teachings.
Also scheduled is a youth book reading and puppetry presentation, a two-day Beloved Community Global Summit and a four-hour Beloved Community Global Youth Summit.
The King Center, in a partnership with Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and The Elizabeth Foundation, are hosting a donation drive until Jan. 10, collecting toiletries to assemble care kits to distribute to the homeless and unsheltered at the King Center on Jan. 15. To drop off items, email volunteer@thekingcenter.org to schedule an appointment.
A Beloved Community Teach-In for K-12 students, as well as the State of Georgia’s Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is planned for 10 a.m. Jan. 12 at the Georgia State Capitol.
The Beloved Community Awards event is planned for Jan. 13 at The Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with a reception at 6 p.m., awards show at 7:30 p.m. and afterglow at 9:45 p.m. Tickets are available at thekingcenter.org. Honorees include actor Michael J. Fox, Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump, and Michael Jordan’s mother, Deloris Jordan, who will be awarded the Beloved Community Coretta Scott King Soul of the Nation Award.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is planning celebrations to commemorate King’s birthday and his legacy that are free and open to the public. The park service plans to have a birthday party on Jan. 12, a soul concert from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 at Ebenezer Baptist Church and a block party on Jan. 15 outside King’s birth home on Auburn Avenue, as it is closed for ongoing renovations.
An annual MLK March and Rally is scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. Jan. 15 on the corner of Baker and Peachtree streets. It will end at the King Center.
Events will be streamed online at the King Center’s website, thekingcenter.org.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
King also said this year, MARTA will have buses with a customized bus wrap that displays Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, with this year’s theme. In a partnership with Microsoft, the King Center has also launched the the Coretta Scott King Rose Gallery, an immersive virtual experience that celebrates the life and legacy of Coretta Scott King.
