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Martin Luther King Celebration Honors Community Leaders

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Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he delivered his famous, “I Have a Dream,” speech during the Aug. 28, 1963, march on Washington, D.C.

MANCHESTER, NH – The Martin Luther King (MLK) Coalition hosts the public annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 at Memorial High School at 1 Crusader Way in Manchester. The event runs from 12:50-4:00 pm and will include refreshments. Doors open to the public at 11:45am.

The theme of the event is “Many Paths, One Dream: Intersectional Perspectives on MLK’s Legacy.” The event will feature a panel discussion by local leaders discussing the intersection of race and LGBTQ+ rights, disabilities, immigration, education and health care. Panelists will include Lisa Beaudoin, Dr. Deborah Opramolla and past MLK awardee Grace Kindeke.

Participants will also attend breakout sessions on these topics led by organizations such as City Year, ABLE NH, American Friends Service Committee and the Black Women HealthCare Project.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a canned food item or a cash donation to benefit the Goffstown Network Food Pantry.

Music will include performances by the West High School jazz band, the Manchester Community Music School’s Queen City Youth Choir and a volunteer MLK Community Chorus who will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.”

At the event, the Coalition will present its annual Martin Luther King 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 year’s Martin Luther King awardee is Amy Antonucci, chair of the board of the New Hampshire Peace Action Education Fund. She is recognized for her work building local community for sustained activism for peace in Palestine and Israel.

This year’s Vanessa Johnson youth award goes to Alissandra Murray, a state Representative from Hillsborough County. They are recognized for their work for dismantling systemic inequalities, championing immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ+ individuals, and affordable housing.

This year a Lifetime Achievement award will be given to Will Arvelo, former president of Great Bay Community College and executive director of Cross Roads House in Portsmouth. His efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable state truly reflect Dr. King’s dream of liberty and justice for all.

A special organizational recognition will be given to the American Friends Service Committee-NH Program.

“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 Coalition’s members include:
    • American Friends Service Committee-NH
    • Greater Manchester Black Scholarship Foundation
    • Manchester Education Association
    • Manchester NAACP
    • National Education Association
    • City Year
    • NH Council of Churches
    • Temple Adath Yeshurun
    • St Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Goffstown

For more information about the Martin Luther King Coalition, please visit: https://mlknh.org/

To see and share this event on Facebook, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/2041298616311047/

CONTACT:
Rev. Jason Wells, (603) 497-2003, (603) 361- 7151, rector@stmattsepiscopal.org

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