This year’s community celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Manchester will urge participants to join the social justice work to which the slain civil rights leader devoted his life.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition is hosting the 42nd annual public event on Monday, Jan. 15, at Manchester Memorial High School, 1 Crusader Way, from noon to 4 p.m.
The theme of this year’s event is “connect for action, act for justice.”
This year’s celebration will encourage participants to join breakout groups to discuss educational equity, immigration policy, advocacy and activism.
Speakers will include Jini Rae Sparkman of City Year, Sebastian Fuentes of Rights and Democracy, David Holt of Welcoming New Hampshire, Grace Kindeke of American Friends Service Committee, and Zack Sheehan of the School Funding Fairness Project.
Musical selections will be performed by the Manchester Community Music School’s City Youth Choir, and a volunteer choir directed by James McKim from the Manchester NAACP.
The coalition also will present the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Award to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire for its work to protect the rights of marginalized communities.
Sandra Almonte, a Manchester business and community leader, will be honored with the Vanessa Washington-Johnson Bloemen award.
The Rev. Jason Wells, a member of the MLK Jr. Coalition, said the annual celebration “bridges divisions in our society and helps us work together for a better future for us all.”
“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 (King’s) Beloved Community,” said Wells, who is pastor of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Goffstown.
Other members of the MLK Jr. Coalition include the Manchester Education Association, Manchester NAACP, National Education Association’s New Hampshire chapter, City Year, New Hampshire Council of Churches, American Friends Service Committee, Greater Manchester Black Scholarship Foundation, Temple Adath Yeshurun, SEA/SEIU Local 1984, Granite State Organizing Project, Welcoming New Hampshire, and Rights and Democracy NH.
