MANCHESTER, NH – The Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Coalition hosts the public annual community celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 15, 2024 at Memorial High School at 1 Crusader Way in Manchester. The event runs from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm and will include refreshments. The theme of the event is “Connect for action, act for justice.”
This year’s celebration will be different from previous celebrations. Rather than featuring a guest speaker, the celebration includes breakout groups where participants will engage in continuing King’s legacy today. The breakout groups will empower participants to connect for action and act for justice. Speakers will include:
- Jini Rae Sparkman of City Year, “The Other America: Answering Dr. King’s Call for Community Action Towards Educational Equity”
- Sebastian Fuentes of Rights and Democracy and David Holt of Welcoming NH, “An Immigration Policy based on Humanity and Dignity”
- Grace Kindeke of American Friends Service Committee and previous MLK awardee, “Organizing for Change: Activism & Advocacy Workshop”
- Zack Sheehan of the School Funding Fairness Project, “Inequities in NH School Funding”
- Maggie Fogarty of American Friends Service Committee, “Economic, Racial and Social Justice Advocacy in the 2024 State Legislative Session”
The program will also include the diverse MLK Jr. volunteer choir, singing We Are the World, under the direction of James McKim. The program also includes the Manchester Community Music School’s Queen City Youth Choir.
At the event, the Coalition will present its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Award. This award recognizes someone in New Hampshire for their work, in keeping with the spirit of Dr. King, to advance the causes of racial justice, economic and social justice, peace, and the use of nonviolence to bring about change.
This 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. awardee is the American Civil Liberties Union-NH. This award is given in recognition of the ACLU-NH’s unwavering and continuing dedication to protecting the rights of marginalized communities, championing causes that are instrumental in fostering a more just and equitable society, especially for their immigration work and bail reform advocacy.
This year’s Vanessa Washington-Johnson Bloemen awardee is Sandra Almonte. Almonte is a Manchester small business owner and recognized community leader. She exemplifies the intent of this award, to commit to one’s community, volunteer your time without expectation of reward, raise your voice to speak truth to power and proceed with goodness and grace.
“The annual MLK Celebration bridges divisions in our society and helps us work together for a better future for us all,” said Rev. Jason Wells, a member of the MLK Coalition and pastor of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Goffstown, “I hope that everyone captivated by King’s faith-based vision for civil rights comes to find new friends also committed to the work of Beloved Community.”
The MLK Jr. Coalition members include:
- Manchester Education Association
- Manchester NAACP
- NH-National Education Association
- City Year
- NH Council of Churches
- American Friends Service Committee-NH
- Greater Manchester Black Scholarship Foundation
- Temple Adath Yeshurun
- St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Goffstown
- SEA/SEIU Local 1984
- Granite State Organizing Project
- Welcoming New Hampshire
- Rights and Democracy NH
For more information about the Martin Luther King Coalition, please visit: https://mlknh.org/
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