Taking place on five days between Jan. 1 and Jan. 18, the celebration includes a worship service, interfaith prayer breakfast, awards ceremony and music concert.
An MLK celebration banquet will feature civil rights pioneer Johnny Ford, the mayor of Tuskegee, Ala.
“Our mission is to bring people together,” said Anthony Whitmore, general chairman with MLK-Dayton Inc., a nonprofit behind the celebration.
The local MLK celebration starts 11 a.m. Friday with a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, located at 1900 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Dayton.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, which declared that all people held as slaves in the rebellious states shall be free.
In a 1962 speech, King said, “If our nation had done nothing more in its whole history than to create just two documents (one of which is the Emancipation Proclamation), its contribution to civilization would be imperishable.”
The second event is a worship service planned for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. On Jan. 15, the celebration returns to Zion Hill church for an interfaith prayer breakfast, which begins at 7:30 a.m.
There will be a Margaret E. Peters school program awards ceremony at 6 p.m. Jan. 15 at Thurgood Marshall STEM High School.
An MLK music concert will be held 6 p.m. Jan. 17. An MLK memorial march will take place at 10 a.m. Jan. 18, beginning at 1323 W. Third St.
A memorial rally is planned for 11 a.m. the same day at the Dayton Convention Center, located at 22 E. Fifth St.
“While we’re walking, we’re talking about justice, we’re talking about equality and most importantly, we’re talking about how we can bring about change in our own beloved community,” Whitmore said.
Mayor Ford will be the speaker at the MLK celebration banquet at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at the convention center. The theme will be “I’m still here.”
Capping off the celebration will be a service at Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St. in Cedarville.
Participants in one or more of the events hopefully will come to appreciate the progress made to improve equality while also receiving inspiration to tackle the work still left unfinished, said Whitmore.
The events serve as a way to educate the public about social justice issues and facilitate a community dialogue about how to keep King’s legacy alive, officials said.
For a full listing of events, visit mlkdayton.org.
About the Author
