With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18, cities across the Metroplex are hosting virtual and in-person events to honor the late civil rights icon. From educational events to parades, here are some events you and your kids can participate in to honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
One virtual event to honor Martin Luther King Jr. is the fourth annual MLK Teach-In. Hosted by Friendship-West and Wilshire Baptist Churches, the teach-in is scheduled for January 16 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Speakers include the senior pastors of both churches and Mayor London Breed from San Francisco. The teach-in will “revisit how Dr. King's theology and politics intersected and offer training on activism beyond the streets,” according to its event page on Facebook. The virtual event will take place via Facebook Live.
For those who want to get out of the house, the Grand Prairie NAACP is hosting a drive-thru parade with the city’s parks department and police department. The event is free and cars can begin lining up as early as 9 a.m. at the Grand Prairie Public Safety Building to participate in the parade. Only 50 cars will be allowed to participate, so those who want to participate will need to get there early to secure a spot. The parade itself will take place from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and free t-shirts and hot dog lunches will be available.
Another educational event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. is the 16th annual MLK Symposium hosted by The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. Scheduled for January 18 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., tickets for this virtual event are $15 or free if you’re an educator or a student. The keynote speaker for the symposium is Annette Gordon-Reed, a history professor at Harvard University and the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. She also won the Pulitzer Prize in History for her book "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family." Following her keynote, Gordon-Reed will be a part of a panel discussion moderated by Dr. J. Larry Allums.
Arlington MLK Jr. Day Celebration
The city of Arlington will honor Martin Luther King Jr. through a series of events January 15-18. After the kickoff event on January 15 at 6 p.m., there will be a virtual MLK Step Show and Drum Line performance at 10 a.m. and a poetry event at 7 p.m. On January 17, the senior pastor of the Arlington First Baptist Church will lead a service. And then on January 18, the city of Arlington will be hosting a MLK Day of Service and a virtual celebration at 10 a.m. More information about Arlington’s MLK Jr. Day events can be found on its website.
The King Center’s “The Urgency of Creating the Beloved Community”
For this year’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., The King Center will be hosting a slate of virtual and in-person events, with the theme for this year’s event being “The Urgency of Creating the Beloved Community.” Based in Atlanta, Georgia, The King Center’s observance of the holiday includes the Beloved Community Global Summit featuring keynote speakers Dr. Bernice A. King and Bryan Stevenson followed by a variety of different sessions and panels over the course of several days. And then on January 18, The King Center will host the Beloved Community Commemorative Service from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. EST. The service will be livestreamed and feature a variety of speakers, tributes to Dr. King and performances. More information about the schedule of events can be found on The King Center’s website.