The devoted District tradition commemorating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) is set to return Jan. 12-19, launching a vision to emulate the civil rights leader beyond the third Monday in January.
Charged by the theme “The Struggle is Real, The Fight is Still,” this year’s MLK Holiday DC aims to ring the bells of justice and equity in a mission not unlike that of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, when King served a cause that continues to echo through next week’s celebration.
“It’s about Black people trying to make sure that there’s equity in not just this country, but in the world for Black people,” said Stuart Anderson, co-chair of MLK Holiday DC. “Dr. King had some really, really forward-thinking ideas about the hope and promise of America. It’s important that we share the whole complexity of the man…the struggles that he faced while trying to bring justice into the world.”
Anderson, who chairs the celebration alongside Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes, added a fitting theme and week of action is about more than honoring the late activist, but invoking his blueprint for justice.
The festivities kick off in Southwest D.C., with a night of prayer, praise and rededication at Living Word Church on Monday, Jan. 12. Then the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, is set to take over the Eighth Annual Prayer Breakfast at Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ (UCC) on Jan. 17.
A day of service, restitution and communal empowerment culminates the lineup, with Jan. 19 featuring the Health and Wellness Fair, Community Clean-up Project, and 21st Annual Peace Walk and Rally and subsequent parade, returning to its outdoor tradition on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Southeast.
Beyond moments of remembrance, Rolark Barnes recognizes the foundation of a promise yet to be fulfilled.
“Dr. King died early while leading a movement for racial and social justice. His living was not in vain, but it is up to every one of us to prove it,” she told The Informer. “Every year, something inevitably happens to reassure the MLK Holiday DC Planning Committee that we are doing the right thing to press forward with this annual commemoration of the life and legacy of Dr. King. This year is no exception.”
In the face of recent global unrest and controversial military actions, the dynamic duo also pointed to a restless fight for the preservation and protection of African American communities.
Anderson offered a candid playback of the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine Black culture.
Among the list: targeted attacks against immigrants and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); attempts to reshape cultural history and institutions; federal occupation of Black-led cities, including Washington, D.C.; and even the decision to strip MLK Day and Juneteenth from the National Park Service’s annual free-entry days, instead replacing them with Flag Day, which also coincides with President Donald Trump’s birthday.
For the native Washingtonian, “a week isn’t long enough” to underscore the parallel of racial progress and fight against, as of late, “cultural erosion.”
“King would be speaking out against these things… He wasn’t just a dreamer,” Anderson emphasized. “Now that we’re under the threat of this guy in the White House…it’s even more important that we do what we do to make sure that the life, legacy, the words, the inspiration, the fire, and all of the reasons why [he] was – and is – important to us are not erased.”
MLK Holiday DC: Preserving the Legacy that Arose the Nation’s Consciousness
Despite Trump’s efforts to diminish national recognition, Anderson reminds: “This didn’t start with a federal holiday.”
While Martin Luther King Jr. Day faced a 15-year trek to official implementation, local recognition thrived thanks to the collaborative trio of Washington Informer founder Dr. Calvin Rolark, former Ward 8 Councilmember Wilhelmina J. Rolark, and radio personality Ralph “Petey” Greene.
The three conceived the annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade in 1977 and hosted the first commemoration two years later, predating the initial bill signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, which officially designated the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of the late freedom fighter.
With a nod to his committee’s founders, Anderson also notes the rallying support of four D.C. churches — Campbell A.M.E (African Methodist Episcopal), Bethlehem Baptist Church, Covenant Baptist UCC, Living Word Church — and Stevie Wonder’s 1980 “Happy Birthday,” an ode to King’s birthday and acknowledgement, for laying the foundation at risk of being stripped.
“That rose the rules, the consciousness of the city and the nation to begin the real drive for the creation of the holiday,” he explained.
Nearly 50 years later, Anderson believes the antidote to erasure lies where it all started: with the leaders of the nation’s capital.
“I want to make sure that successive generations get a sense and a feel for who Dr. King was, what Dr. King’s focal points were,” he continued. “We have to do as much as we can to make sure we’re telling [them] it’s important to look back, so that we can continue to prosper and move forward.”
From an early champion of environmental justice to the monumental steps that led to the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, next week’s events strive to deliver a holistic imagery of who King was.
During the MLK Holiday DC Health and Wellness Fair — to be held in the PNC Parking Lot (next to far Southeast) on Monday, Jan. 19 — attendees can expect wellness information, free groceries, health exhibitors and more in tribute to a lifetime of community service and uplifting vulnerable populations.
Shortly after, at the same site, the Community Clean-Up Project embodies King’s famed quote: ‘Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere,’ echoing his pivotal advocacy that laid the groundwork for landmark environmental legislation, such as the 1963 Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act of 1972, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
After hosting the Seventh Annual Prayer Breakfast in January 2025, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Turner, senior pastor of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, highlighted “MLK Week” as an opportunity to realign the community with values of collectivism and “a sense of commitment” that he believes modern generations struggle with.
“The people of that Civil Rights era persevered until it was done – the [Montgomery Bus Boycott] and other initiatives that took place, they saw it to its fruition and to its end,” he emphasized. “It’s important to have these events, for us to make sure that we pass it on, that it’s a part of his legacy, and others – like myself, I consider – who stand in the shadows of Dr. King, would share that with those who are to come along.”
While the WI publisher carries the Rolark mantle, she calls on modern freedom fighters to reignite the call behind the annual commemoration.
“Our theme: ‘The Struggle is Real; The Fight is Still’ reminds us that the baton was passed, and now we must do our part to stand firm — while we choose, community over chaos,’” she declared, referencing the words of King’s final book: “Where Do We Go From Here: Community or Chaos?” (1967).
Meanwhile, Anderson emphasizes that preserving King’s legacy is echoing the resilience of a leader unafraid to reshape the status quo.
Thus, he encourages others to be inspired by similar fearlessness as activists push toward equity today.
“For us to keep talking about King, it makes them uncomfortable,” he told The Informer, “but I’m cool with making people uncomfortable.”
For more information and event registration, go to MLK Holiday DCor Eventbrite.