City Honors Martin Luther King, Jr. With Annual Day of Service
By Patrick DeVivo
Last Year's MLK Day of Service
Photo Credit: Nancy Clover
On Monday, January 20th, the country will celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As in past years, Melrose has scheduled a number of educational and charitable activities around the city to help bring meaning to Dr. King’s message of nonviolence and care for the less fortunate among us.
This year’s activities have been organized by the MLK Day of Service Coalition, a group of citizens representing the city’s local religious and charitable organizations. The events are open to all – pre-registration is not necessary.
The day will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church (70 West Emerson Street). A schedule of the day’s events, with information about specific activities, will be available at that time, or on the event’s Facebook page.
That morning, participants will be asked to sign up for an activity and then report to that activity’s location. The following organizations are preparing activities for the day:
Last Year's MLK Day of Service
Photo Credit: Nancy Clover
- Pathways To Restorative Communities
- Melrose United Methodist Church
- Temple Beth Shalom
- Melrose Highlands Congregational Church
- Bread of Life
- Pantry of Hope
- The Food Drive
- Immigrant Support Alliance
- Fighting for Black Lives in Our Neighborhood
- Melrose Council on Aging
- Friends of the Middlesex Fells
Last Year's MLK Day of Service
Photo Credit: Nancy Clover
At the conclusion of their activity, participants are invited to return to the Unitarian Universalist Church where they will be treated to a pizza lunch starting at noon. Lunch will be followed by remarks from Mayor Jen Grigoraitis and a performance by the MLK Choir. The day will conclude with a community reading of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.”
In addition to these activities, Brian Johnson, a local artist, will be presenting an art piece he created featuring Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” formatted around a photo of the civil rights leader. This art piece will be hung at the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church during the MLK Day of Service.
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