MLK Day is January 16th, Week-Long Events Honoring The Late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Are Planned for the City
The City of San Antonio and the MLK Commission would like you and your family to join your community at the MLK Day march. This will be the city’s 36th MLK celebration march happening on Monday, January 16, 2023. The march will begin at 10 a.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy located at 3501 Martin Luther King Drive. The march will end at Pittman-Sullivan Park located at 1101 Iowa St. In great San Antonio tradition the MLK commission will be hosting the annual park celebration following the march at Pittman-Sullivan Park.
The celebration, directly following the march, will include community vendors on site ranging from food to merchandise and informational booths. In addition to the main stage that will host multicultural performances, there will also be a health and wellness area available along with a youth area for all to enjoy.
Throughout the month, there will be several events that will bring both peace and service in the celebration of the legacy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left behind. You will find a list below.
Martin Luther King, Jr., made history, but he was also transformed by his deep family roots in the African-American Baptist church, his formative experiences in his hometown of Atlanta, his theological studies, his varied models of religious and political leadership, and his extensive network of contacts in the peace and social justice movements of his time. Although King was only 39 at the time of his death, his life was remarkable for the ways it reflected and inspired so many of the twentieth century’s major intellectual, cultural, and political developments.
Until his death, King remained steadfast in his commitment to the transformation of American society through nonviolent activism. In his posthumously published essay, “A Testament of Hope” (1969), he urged African Americans to refrain from violence but also warned: “White America must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society.” The “black revolution” was more than a civil rights movement, he insisted. “It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws—racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism” (King, “Testament,” 194).
After her husband’s death, Coretta Scott King established the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change (also known as the King Center) to promote Gandhian-Kingian concepts of nonviolent struggle. She also led the successful effort to honor her husband with a federally mandated King national holiday, which was first celebrated in 1986.
January Has Plenty of Events in San Antonio to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s Legacy.
Below are 9 ways you can get involved in your community on MLK Day’s week-long celebration. Here are a list of San Antonio events in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
Commission and Community Events:
Trinity Lecture
Thursday, January 12, 2023 – 7 p.m.
Location: Trinity Lecture Laurie Auditorium
Baptist Ministers Union Worship Service
Friday, January 13, 2023 – 7 p.m.
Location: Antioch Baptist Church
Youth Empowerment Event
Saturday, January 14, 2023 – 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Location: The Espee at Sunset Station
Wreath Laying Ceremony
Sunday, January 15, 2023 – 2 p.m.
Location: MLK Plaza (N. New Braunfels St. and E. Houston St.)
Interfaith Worship Service
Sunday, January 15, 2023 – 4:30 p.m.
Location: St. Gerard Catholic Church
Pre-March Service
Monday, January 16, 2023 – 8 a.m.
Pre-Worship Service
Monday, January 16, 2023 – 9 a.m.
Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Academy
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March
Monday, January 16, 2023 – 10 a.m.
Starts at: Martin Luther King Jr. Academy
Ends at: Pittman-Sullivan Park
Commemorative Program & Public Awards Ceremony
Monday, January 16, 2023 – 12 p.m.
Location: Pittman-Sullivan Park
