Following the March, a commemorative program will be held from 2-3:30 featuring a musical performance by the First Baptist Bracktown Praise Team and a keynote speech by Dr. Nyle Fort.
Originally, the poet Nikki Giovanni was slated to deliver the keynote, but she passed away in early December. A tribute to her will include a reading by former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker.
DeBraun Thomas, the event's co-director of programming, says another person remembered at the event will be Lexington's own Patrick Mitchell.
“An artist, an actor, photographer, radio DJ – he was integral in the Martin Luther King Day celebrations,” said Thomas. “His photos from the last several years are really, really remarkable, and it speaks of his commitment to the community because that man was literally everywhere.”
Thomas said part of makes the annual event so special is that it’s responsive to the needs of the moment, requiring organizers “[to] really understand what trends are happening, what things are happening, and how to be able to express a message that will not only inspire people but will give them the appreciation and understanding that they can go out and do something as well. Not just on that day - sure, that's a day of service - but the legacy of Dr. King is 365 days a year."
This year’s theme is “Where Do We Go From Here”, named for Dr. King’s final book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, released in 1967. Thomas quoted from the book, saying what was relevant then, remains relevant today.
"A society is always eager to cover misdeeds with a cloak of forgetfulness, but no society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present. America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness—justice."
The celebration is a collaboration between UK and LFUCG
Thomas is a member of staff at WUKY.