MLK Day of Service Returns This Weekend
By Ellen Putnam
Photo Credit: Nancy Clover
This Sunday and Monday, Melrosians can honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, by participating in a community potluck, a free concert, volunteer and learning opportunities, and a ceremony to honor King.
MLK Day of Service has been a tradition in Melrose for at least a decade. Before the pandemic, it was organized by the city’s Human Rights Commission. But since last year, when the Human Rights Commission stepped back from organizing events, it has been taken over by a coalition of volunteers.
“Last year was kind of a scaled-down version of what we had done for MLK Day in the past,” explained coalition member Garin Boyd. “This year is going to be a little larger in scope.”
MLK Day of Service events will take place on both Sunday evening and Monday morning.
On Sunday at 5pm, there will be a potluck at the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church (MUUC), followed by a free Opening Doors concert at 7pm. The concert will feature Melrose resident Alastair Moock along with fellow musicians Stephanie McKay and Tyrone Chase. From Opening Doors: “The three musicians will swap songs and engage the audience in a conversation about Dr. King’s “beloved community” and the social and racial barriers that continue to make the arc of the moral universe long.”
Anyone interested in attending Sunday’s potluck and/or concert is requested to RSVP for the potluck here and/or reserve a free concert ticket here.
Monday’s events will kick off at 9:30am at MUUC with a community breakfast. Everyone is encouraged to stop by MUUC in order to sign up for volunteer opportunities, because some will be limited by space. No prior registration is required.
Participants will be able to choose from the following volunteer opportunities, which will run between 10am and 12pm:
- Cooking for Bread of Life at Melrose Highlands Congregational Church
- Sorting donations for the Trinity Parish Thrift Shop
- Shopping for Pantry of Hope at First Baptist Church
- Packing backpacks with nutritious food for elementary students at Bread of Life
Participants can also choose to engage in learning during the 10am-12pm window, with three different locations offering presentations and discussion:
- Readings of stories from African American History with a space to talk about diversity at Temple Beth Shalom. Participants are welcome to bring donations of food for Bread of Life and clothing for Catie’s Closet.
- Presentation about LUCE Mass and their efforts to support immigrant families at First United Methodist Church. Participants are welcome to bring hats, gloves and wool socks (new or in very good condition) for families impacted by immigration policies. There will also be a book sale, with proceeds to go directly to families in need supported by LUCE Mass in Malden and Everett.
- Four different half-hour presentations at MUUC: The State of Systemic Racism in Melrose, presented by the Melrose chapter of Fighting for Black Lives in Our Neighborhood; Restorative Justice as Civic Action, presented by Pathways to Restorative Communities; an update on the activities of Melrose’s Immigrant Support Alliance (ISA); and a presentation from LUCE Mass. Participants are welcome to bring unopened spices for immigrant families.
At noon, participants are invited to return to MUUC for lunch, a musical performance, and a group reading of the “I Have a Dream” speech.
“We wanted to normalize and reinstitutionalize the MLK Day of Service after the pandemic,” Boyd said, “And there has been amazing support in the community. Our goal was not to lay the whole responsibility of planning and organizing the events on one individual or organization, and to broaden our reach - to bring as many members of our diverse community into the planning process as we can. As a result, I think this will be the most inclusive MLK Day of Service we’ve had in Melrose yet.”
“There’s more flexibility in a coalition approach,” added Cory Allen, another of the event’s organizers. “We’re very proud of all the events and activities and opportunities that will be offered on Sunday and Monday - it really does speak well of our community.”
While some of the volunteer activities will not be explicitly political, some of the presentations are tied more directly to the current political situation. “Our program offerings have been very effective and have carried a lot of weight in the past,” reflected Boyd. “This year, we’ll be having presentations from ISA and LUCE Mass, and on restorative justice - those are timely and very poignant issues for today.”
Allen himself will be leading the presentation on antiracism, and he added that the presentations on supporting immigrant families will “provide a lot of ways for the community to get involved at different levels they might wish to be involved in - preparing meals, providing spices for immigrants who don’t want to leave the house, or calling a hotline when ICE is in the area.”
“I believe that Dr. King set the model for nonviolent resistance in every avenue of modern day advocacy,” Boyd went on. “As modern day activists, we look to King’s message, and the root of his work, especially in 2026, has shown us the proper way to resist and how to use nonviolent demonstration to get things done. King was able to build and sustain and move the culture of this country, and that was huge in modeling for future activists. We all build off of what we learned from Dr. King.”
“Especially after the tragic events of last week,” Allen added, “we feel that these events can provide some outlet for people who might be at a place where they’re thinking, ‘This isn’t how the country should operate.’ We didn’t want it to become more relevant, but we feel that it has.”
For the most up-to-date information on this year’s MLK Day of Service, view this document or visit the group’s Facebook page. Donations for the cost of the weekend’s events are welcome at the MUUC website, and will go directly to the expenses for the weekend’s events.
