The 49th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up on January 18th and Charleston has a variety of celebrations planned to honor the shape-shifting civil rights leader.
The theme for this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration is “Restore the Dream. Repair our World,” a much-needed message in these times of chaos and uncertainty.
This year’s events will include a Racial Equity Institute Executive Session, Youth Poetry Slam, Blood Drive, Breakfast Summit, Ecumenical Service and MLK Parade. These programs, which are hosted by the Young Women’s Christian Association, will be streamed live for those who wish to participate. The parade will take place at noon on January 18th and can be viewed on NBC WCBD News 2.
In a statement on the importance of this year’s celebration, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said, “Perhaps this season celebrating Dr. King’s birthday will be more important than ever because this time we’ll put behind us one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory and move into a new year with great expectations of ridding our nation and world of the terrible pandemic.”
Click here to learn more about the celebrations taking place this year.