A demonstration for peace for Martin Luther King Jr. (West Side Grows Together)

Celebrations, service opportunities to mark MLK Jr. day

Ken MammarellaCulture, Headlines

A demonstration for peace for Martin Luther King Jr. (West Side Grows Together)

A demonstration for peace for Martin Luther King Jr. (West Side Grows Together)

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Monday, and for many people, it will be a day of service.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” the United Way of Delaware quotes the assassinated civil rights leader.

Here are some events in Delaware, all on Monday, unless noted otherwise.

West Side Grows Together, which cares about that section of Wilmington, is sponsoring the 10th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Cleanup, Peace March and Celebration. The cleanup runs 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with the march and celebration following. The event unites the Teen Warehouse, Be Ready CDC, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Nature Society, Guerrilla Republik, 302 Guns Down, Network Connect, Wilmington Peacekeepers, Delaware Humanities and the city of Wilmington for a day of service, a demonstration of peace and community strength and an call to action.

The Martin Luther King Breakfast and Day of Service, usually at the Chase Center for the Riverfront, is a virtual event this year, running 8-10 a.m., notes the Delaware State Bar Association. The keynote is by Deborah Archer, president of the American Civil Liberties Union on King and his Vision for a beloved community. The association’s service projects will go on as scheduled.

The Inner City Cultural League in Dover is running a virtual MLK Day Celebration at noon, with the keynote by Vilicia Cade, superintendent of the Capital School District.

The Delaware Art Museum is sponsoring a kickoff celebration 9:30-10:30 a.m. to lead into time for volunteering. The kickoff includes performances at museum, at 2301 Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, by Jea Street Jr. and Wilmington Children’s Chorus. Volunteering is listed at Westside Grows; the Teen Warehouse, 1121 Thatcher St., Wilmington, for cleanup; and One Village Alliance, 31 W. 31st St., Wilmington, for various projects and mentorship for Raising Kings Week.

Volunteer Delaware, a state agency that promotes volunteerism, also includes HeartArt, the Brandywine Valley SPCA and PLARN for MLK volunteering.

MLK Voice 4 Youth,  presented by the YWCA Delaware and Christ Church Christiana Hundred, is a statewide, spoken-word contest for high school students. Registration began last fall, and the finals are on March 6, but the event is named for King, with the YWCA quoting him on “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Tjhe Milford Area Ministerial Association will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. service at noon Monday in the First Presbyterian Church, 101 S. Walnut St., Milford.  Faye Blake, CEO of Pathways to Success, will be the speaker. A freewill offering will be taken for the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund for a local high school student.

Share this Post