Arlington Plans Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington community members will gather later this month for the town's 35th year of Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebrations, officials recently announced.

This year's celebration will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 in the Town Hall auditorium at 730 Mass. Ave.

Martin Luther King Jr. birthday programming will include a keynote address from NAACP Boston President Tanisha Sullivan as well as performances by the Arlington High School Music Department.

In addition to her role with the NAACP, Sullivan mounted a primary campaign last year to unseat incumbent Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin.

“Her leadership and excellence in civil rights activism is a shining example of Dr. King’s legacy,” celebration organizers with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance Committee of Arlington recently wrote of Sullivan.

Organizers are accepting donations to benefit various public organizations and nonprofits. There will be donation opportunities in person on Jan. 16. Donations can also be made online using the link here or by check mailed to "Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance Committee of Arlington, Massachusetts, P.O. Box 320, Arlington, MA 02476."

Donations will go to groups that "promote the goals of equality, justice and nonviolence for which Dr. King gave his life," members of the King, Jr. Birthday Observance Committee said.

Past recipients have included the African American Scholarship Fund for students at Arlington High School, Arlington EATS, the Center for Jewish Life and the Massachusetts Covid-19 Relief Fund.

Planned Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday programming will be streamed live on TV by Arlington Community Media and on Facebook by the Arlington Human Rights Commission.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15. The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place annually on the third Monday of January, which falls on Jan. 16 this year.