Reminiscent of his early days in civil rights advocacy, the Rev. Gerald Durley admits he didn’t expect a rebirth of the movement that sparked a dream in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK).
As Jan. 19 marked national recognition of the fallen freedom fighter, a day ahead of the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Durley is moving with a reimagined take of his comrade’s mission in 2026.
“If he were alive today, I don’t know how many people would listen to him. King was at the right time,” said Durley, pastor emeritus of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. “Everything is around time–– Barack [Obama] was at the right time…Sojourner Truth was at the right time. It’s time for that other kind of leader, [and] I think that’s what King would [focus on].”
For Durley, passing that baton means laying a path for action rooted in the same “great humility” that defined King’s life.
“Two [questions] made us strong as a people: ‘What are you willing to sacrifice and what are you willing to risk?’” said the international civil rights activist. “[King] never saw his four children do the things that many of us see now, but he gave that up for something he believed in. Now, our cause is: how do we strengthen one another? [How do] we do that with our young people?”
Answering that question while demonstrating King’s commitment to justice is the status quo of the annual MLK Holiday DC, which hosted events of celebration and remembrance throughout Ward 8 from Jan. 12-19.
As hundreds were activated in the theme: “The Struggle is Real. The Fight is Still,” this year’s commemoration set the stage for a yearlong mission to champion the “cause of King’s life” – while honoring a holistic, generational influence that shaped African American liberation.
“It isn’t just history – it’s a blueprint,” said Kita Williams, a member of MLK Holiday DC committee. “The question is do you not only know his dream, but what are you doing with it?”
MLK Holiday DC Begs the Question: ‘What Are You Willing to Do?’
Across a series of activations, MLK Holiday DC — co-chaired by Stuart Anderson and Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes — highlighted the breadth of King’s dedication to challenging systems and bettering communities.
From the kickoff at Southwest’s Living Word Church to the culminating 21st Annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade on Jan. 19, local religious leaders, activists, officials, and advocates across all walks of life convened in a mission to continue what King started – particularly in the name of faith, passion, and collective resilience.
“Dr. King reminds us that justice…happens when people show up, speak up, and stand together,” Williams emphasized. “He wasn’t just dreaming — he was organizing, challenging systems, pushing for real change in real time…and that’s exactly what we do.”
During the Eighth Annual Prayer Breakfast – held at Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ (UCC) on Saturday, Jan. 17 – keynote speaker, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Washington, spoke to the sustaining power of hope and prayer in confronting adversity.
Meanwhile, Monday’s Community Clean-Up Project, hosted in conjunction with the Seventh Annual Health and Wellness Fair, served as the backdrop to the hundreds rallying across Southeast, D.C., as they marched to the beat of generational resistance.
“It really does remind you of the sacrifices made, and that we’re still making,” DeJuan Mason, co-chair of the Peace Rally told The Informer. “It’s not about just sitting at the dinner table and talking about what Dr. King did…the John Lewis’s [and] the Stokely Carmichaels of the world. It’s about what we as a community need to move forward.”
Durley says, beyond the third Monday of January, King’s legacy lives in a deeper understanding of the man behind the impact – the one whose contribution to America extends beyond the history books.
“I would paint him as a human being, and…you are a human being,” he continued. “You [have] to understand who you are, what you’re about, what you’re willing to give.”
When it comes to carrying that mantle through 2026, the longtime faith leader and freedom fighter offered a candid response: it’s been done before, and it’s time to do it again.
“I never thought that we’d be fighting for civil rights, voting rights, human rights again, 60 years later…but I feel more hopeful now than I did, sometimes, in the old days,” Durley told The Informer. “[Young people now have] all of the tools, the resources. What are you willing to do?”