
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
BIRTHDAY OBSERVANCE COMMITTEE
Commemorating 35 Years of Celebration
We are volunteers dedicated to highlighting the importance of civil rights leader
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his lifetime and ours.
Since 1989 our committee has put on a free, public, yearly celebration in Arlington of his achievements, with a keynote speaker, blessings from local faith leaders, music and singing, and refreshments. Originally held in a Baptist Church with a potluck supper, the Observance moved to Town Hall in 2008. We gave up the warmth of the potluck supper and the Baptist setting appropriate to the Reverend Dr. King. However, we gained a larger audience and a civic space comfortable to people of all faiths.
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Celebrating our 38th year of commemorating the
Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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Arlington Town Hall
January 19th, 2026
6:30 pm​​​​
2025 Speaker
Kellie Carter Jackson
Kellie Carter Jackson is an American academic scholar, author and broadcaster researching the history of slavery, abolitionists, violence and black women’s history.
Carter Jackson is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, Chair of Africana, Wellesley College, and author of two highly regarded books: Force and Freedom, and We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance. She is co-host of @ThisDayPod @Yougetapodcastmuch and a much in-demand lecturer.
Music by Peoples Baptist Church Male Chorus, directed by Marcia Scott


