Here’s how to celebrate MLK Day in Montgomery

Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day is celebrated on the third Monday of each year, which in 2022 is January 17. Since the holiday is coming up, we’re bringing you all the ways you can celebrate King and his legacy in Montgomery.

Visit the Dexter Parsonage Museum

What better way to celebrate MLK day than to be in the spot where history happened. In Montgomery, you can visit the white bungalow home King lived in from 1954 to 1960. Tour the home and see the same interior MLK saw when he lived there.

Head to the back of the house to experience the Garden of Reflection, a place to reflect on the teachings of King and the Civil Rights movement.

• Location: 309 S Jackson St, Montgomery, AL 36104
• Hours: Monday-Friday 9AM-4PM I Saturday 10AM-2PM
• Cost: $7.50 Adults I $5.50 Children under 12
• Website I Facebook

Attend The 47th Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration

Since you’re already touring MLK’s old home, make sure to check out The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church’s 47th Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration on January 17.

The day will include a parade, words from Rev. Courtney D. Meadows of Hutchinson Missionary Baptist Church, an ice cream party. COVID-19 testing kits will also be given away for free. 

• Location: 454 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104
• Time: Friday, Jan. 17 I 9AM
• Cost: Free
• Website I Facebook

Participate in the MLK Week of Service

Want to honor the Civil Rights movement from a safe distance? The Montgomery County Volunteer Center is putting on their annual large-scale volunteer event, MLK Week of Service, virtually with a few in-person events as well.

The 2022 event will run from Saturday, Janurary 15 to Saturday, January 22. It will feature activities like crafting coasters out of recycled magazines, making blankets for foster children and families in need and sending cards to seniors and veterans. 

All events are free, but registration is a must.

• Website I Facebook

Catch a concert with the MLK Day Jazz & Lyric Celebration

Enjoy the sound of jazz and lyric styling at the Jazz and Lyric Celebration presented by The Montgomery Martin Luther King Day Committee. Music was a vital part of the Civil Rights movement and Black culture, so celebrate the movement and local community with the sweet sounds of jazz.

• Location: Renaissance Montgomery Hotel, 201 Tallapoosa St, Montgomery, AL 36104
• Time: Friday, Jan. 14 I 8-10PM
• Cost: Free
• Register

Attend “Stepping into Power: Young People’s Town Hall”

Looking to the past is an important part of building our future. The MLK Committee is celebrating King’s legacy by creating a space for current generational leaders to discuss and converse about today’s challenges. As part of this year’s MLK Weekend Celebration, there will be a non-partisan Town Hall event featuring Millennial and Generation Z leaders speaking on the importance of inclusion and in living out King’s legacy.

Audience members will have the opportunity to speak with these young leaders in a true Town Hall format, followed by informal breakout conversations. Panelists include Mayor Timothy Ragland, Councilwoman March Johnson (Montgomery District 3) and Evan Reid (Law Fellow, Equal Justice Initiative).

• Location: Capri Theatre, 1045 East Fairview Ave. Montgomery, AL 36106
• Time: Friday, Jan. 13 I 5-7PM
• Cost: Free
• Register

Visit the Civil Rights Memorial

Not far from the church where King preached, you will find The Civil Rights Memorial Center. The memorial itself is a black granite table that recorded the names of those who died fighting for equality from the time of the Brown v. Board decision in 1954 to the death of MLK in 1968.

• Location: 400 Washington Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104

Visit The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

See the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people, people terrorized by lynching and African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow.

Recently, they also opened the Legacy Museum. This display is situated on a site in Montgomery where Black people were forced to labor in bondage. It is mere blocks from one of the most prominent slave auction spaces in America and steps away from the rail station where tens of thousands of Black people were trafficked during the 19th century. 

• Location: 417 Caroline Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104
• Cost: $5
• Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 9AM-5PM
• Tickets
• Website

What are your MLK weekend plans? Let us know by tagging us @thebamabuzz.