Across Boston and the state, organizations and leaders are again getting into the spirit of celebrating the life and legacy with a number of different activities and tributes through the holiday weekend.
“I’ve always seen the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as an opportunity not only to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, but also to remind folks about who he actually is–the totality of the man, not the sanitized, most digestible parts,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley at the 42nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Breakfast in Springfield on Saturday. “The whole truth is that Dr. King was a proud and unapologetic Black man, a prophetic preacher and radical dreamer with a bold vision for revolutionary change.”
Already on Saturday, Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Sen. Ed Markey gathered with a group of 8th graders selected to be Project 351 ambassadors to kick-off a year of service. The Project selects an 8th grader from each of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns to participate in a year of community leadership and service.
Ahead of the MLK Day holiday, the group also celebrated the milestone of Project 351’s 5000th Ambassador since the program’s start in 2011 on Saturday.
On Monday, the 54th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast will kick off at 9 a.m. at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. That event will be available to watch via livestream.
With the theme of “Keeping the Promise of Democracy,” the breakfast will feature keynote speaker Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
At noon, the City of Boston and Boston University will also host a joint event at the university under the theme “Whose Quest for Peace and Justice?,” inspired by King’s 1964 Nobel Lecture, and featuring keynote speaker Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. The event will be free at BU’s GSU Metcalf Hall and is also available to watch via livestream.
A number of museums, zoos and national parks will also be free for the holiday on Monday. The ICA and MFA will be hosting programs and events throughout the day in addition to the exhibits, from movies, to crown-making, to live music by the Boston City Singers.
The Isabella Stewart Garner Museum will feature a “Day of Service” celebrating the legacy of the Kings and activism in Boston. The day will feature interactive programming and conversations with local educators, organizers and cultural leaders from 11:30 a.m. through the afternoon.
At the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, musicians with George Russell Jr. and Friends will be hosting special family programming from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Stephen Smith Hall. The group will play some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite songs and dig into how music inspired and motivated Americans during the civil rights movement.
At Symphony Hall, the Boston Children’s Chorus will be performing the In the Name of Love: 21st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert at 4 p.m. The concert will “raise the voices of civil rights activists including Coretta Scott King and Bayard Rustin, who developed the blueprint for modern day activists.” Tickets are $15.
The Embrace statue in the Boston Common, modelled after a famous photograph of MLK and Coretta Scott King, will also reach its official one year anniversary on Monday, remaining free and open for visitation as always.
