America urged to Remember! Celebrate! Act! During King Holiday observance

Jet, Jan 28, 2002

The annual King Holiday will be celebrated across the country on Jan. 21 by millions of Americans. This year's festivities marks its 16th anniversary as a national holiday.

The King family and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change Inc. based in Atlanta have titled this year's theme: Remember! Celebrate! Act!

"We have called for people to remember to celebrate and most importantly, to act," Coretta Scott King, widow of the late civil fights leader, told EBONY Magazine. "Martin Luther King gave his life loving and serving others, and we think it's a very appropriate way to celebrate the day." Jan. 15 marks the actual day the slain civil fights leader would have turned 73 years old.

The King Center will kick off the Jan. 21 festivities in Atlanta by partnering with the Ebenezer Baptist Church for its annual commemorative service with Bishop Eddie L. Long.

Among the many major celebrations planned:

In New York City, the 14th annual Commemorative Walk/March in honor of Dr. King will begin and end at the Manhattan Country School.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition will celebrate its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Commemorative Breakfast at the Chicago Hilton & Towers.

Raleigh, NC, will observe the holiday with an evening musical celebration at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. And Los Angeles will honor Dr. King with the Kingdom Day Parade that will assemble at Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Boulevards.