Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. events TODAY, this week

Central Falls & Pawtucket to unite in service as volunteers clean up the Pawtucket/Central Falls Train Station area

City leaders and residents from Central Falls and Pawtucket will participate in a day of volunteer service on Monday, Jan. 16, in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Volunteers will clean up the surrounding area of the soon-to-open Pawtucket/Central Falls Train Station.

Each year on the third Monday in January, Americans observe the MLK Day holiday by volunteering to make local communities more equitable. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and take action to create communities that reflect Dr. King’s dream. AmeriCorps has been charged with leading this effort for the past 25 years.

Volunteers will meet at 11 a.m. in the parking lot of America’s Food Basket (close to the Train Station end) on 300 Barton Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Cleaning supplies will be distributed to each volunteer.

“The work and legacy of Dr. King remains a shining example of how we can and must work together to ensure equitable opportunities for all Central Falls and Pawtucket residents,” said Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera. “Serving together as a community is one way to honor that legacy and renew our shared commitment to this work. I look forward to working alongside my neighbors on this National Day of Service.”

“I am incredibly proud to join Mayor Rivera and residents of Pawtucket and Central Falls for this special event,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “There is no better way for us to keep the memory and legacy of Dr. King alive than participating in acts of service to make our communities a better, more equitable, place to live, work, and play.”

There is no registration needed to be part of this effort and all are welcome to join us at 11 a.m. on Monday. For more information, contact Chief of Staff Zuleyma Gomez at 401-464-1148. 

Service projects across the nation include delivering meals, refurbishing schools and community centers, collecting food and clothing, signing up mentors, reading to children, promoting nonviolence and more. For more information, visit AmeriCorps.gov/MLKDay.

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission

The Martin Luther King Jr. Commission’s annual celebration of the life and death of the great civil rights leader will take place TODAY, Monday, January 16, beginning at 4 p.m. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, 475 Cranston Street, Providence.  The Commission requests all attendees to arrive at 3:30 p.m. and the event is open to the public.

The official holiday commemoration will include remarks by commission members, state and religious leaders, a musical presentation by RPM Voices and awards to community leaders:

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City of East Providence

East Providence will recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. on WEDNESDAY, January 18, 2023 at East Providence City Hall, 145 Taunton Avenue, in East Providence, from 6-7pm. Guest Speaker will be forward thinker and visionary, Mason Santos.

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The 39th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast in Rhode Island

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast will be held this year on Monday, January 16th from 8am to 10am at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in Cranston.

The event is a program of the Rhode Island Ministers Alliance and is the 39th year of the MLK Scholarship Breakfast. “RI Congressman David Cicilline will be the featured guest speaker, and eight scholarships will be awarded, said Pastor Howard M. Jenkins, Jr., President of the Alliance.

Other guest speakers have yet to be announced and a choir will perform.

Tickets are $50 and can be reserved: HERE – this has been a sold out event so reserve your tickets as soon as possible.

MLK Day

40 years ago, in 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed MLK Day into law and 3 years later it was first observed. By the year 2000, all fifty states officially observed the day, held on the 3rd Monday of the month of January. The date was picked because it is closest to King’s birthday of January 15. King was born in 1929 and would have been 94 this year. He died on April 4, 1968, 55 years ago.

MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

The Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island is an ecumenical, multi-cultural collaboration of Pastors and Ministers throughout Rhode Island. We enjoy serving the Lord together. We are best known for our annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast.