Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Day Celebration

Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy

Please note the new time for our event:
Program runs from 2 - 4PM
Tabling from 4 - 5PM
During Tabling, Visit with Black-Owned Business and other Community Groups

Dr. King frequently spoke of the beloved community, a phrase coined by philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce of The Fellowship of Reconciliation in the early 20th Century. Dr. King popularized the term with greater depth:

"But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. The type of love that I stress here is not eros, a sort of esthetic or romantic love; not philia, a sort of reciprocal love between personal friends; but it is agape which is understanding goodwill for all men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization."

                         from “The Role of the Church in Facing the Nation's Chief Moral Dilemma,” 1957
 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was signed into legislation in 1983 to recognize his birthday and his legacy as a federal holiday. The holiday was first observed in 1986. In 1994, Congress passed the King Day of Service Act, making Dr. King’s holiday a National Day of Service. This day, the third Monday of January, is a call for people from all walks of life to work together for the greater good of the community – moving us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a ‘beloved community’ across the nation and locally.
 
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.