events

City offers a slate of activities for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year falls on the slain civil rights leader’s actual birthday, Jan. 15. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other local nonprofits offer a variety of events to honor the transformative leader. A parade through Central City is the centerpiece of the New Orleans MLK Day. R.E.A.L. (Recreating the Environmental Ability to Live) has been hosting this event in New Orleans for 37 years.

events

Martin Luther King Day events emphasize peace amid the city’s escalating violence

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The city has a full slate of Martin Luther King Jr. Day events planned for the holiday weekend, with the preeminent event taking place on Monday (Jan. 16), the national holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. Events include concerts, a day of service, art exhibits, worship services, and Monday’s march and ceremony to commemorate King during 60th year since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. As street violence escalates in New Orleans — the nation’s murder capital in 2022 — organizers are emphasizing King’s message of nonviolence throughout the weekend’s events. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a symbolic staple of peace in our communities who spoke passionately of unifying our country nonviolently and truly believing the one way to end injustices in our communities is through non-violent approaches,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell in a press release.

events

City remembers, celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy (photo gallery)

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday was celebrated in New Orleans Monday (Jan. 20) with a Commemorative Celebration at the New Orleans Jazz Market and a Remembrance March that began at the corner of Martin Luther King and Oretha Castle Haley boulevards. The standing-room-only crowd at the Jazz Market was treated to several motivating musical performances and speeches. More than 134 units from church groups to marching bands joined the Remembrance March that traveled up Martin Luther King Boulevard to Claiborne, to Washington Avenue ending at A.L. Davis Park where the celebration continued. The theme for the event was “Remember, Celebrate and Act.”

events

Martin Luther King Jr. Day events continue through Tuesday

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The city has a full slate of Martin Luther King Jr. Day events planned, running through Tuesday, with the preeminent event taking place on Monday, the national holiday honoring the civil rights leader. Events include concerts, a day of service, worship services, and Monday’s march and ceremony. “Our theme this year is going to be ‘Remember, Celebrate, and Act,’ and using this holiday to remember Dr. King’s legacy and moving forward with ’20-20 vision’ throughout this year, where we started a new decade,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Cantrell and the event chairwoman, Judge Terri Love, will welcome guests to the MLK Commemorative Celebration at 9 a.m. Monday (Jan. 20), the official King holiday, at the New Orleans Jazz Market, 1436 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

events

Video: Marc Morial, Zulu club honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Video by Zach Brien, Uptown Messenger

The city paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the New Orleans Jazz Market on  and a march from the Market to A.L. Davis Park in Central City. Marc Morial, former mayor of New Orleans and president and CEO of the National Urban League, delivered an address at the Jazz Market. There, he talked about New Orleans’ key role in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, co-founded and led by King. The event also featured speeches by Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Gov. John Bel Edwards, as well as music from the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and a choir from Zulu, featured in the video above singing “We Shall Overcome.”

events

City’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day events continue through Monday

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The city’s activities to commemorate the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday will culminate in a special set of events on the official holiday date – Monday, Jan. 21. Saturday features three major events: the Rev. Avery C. Alexander Social Action Forum at the Dryades YMCA on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard; the Day of Service at the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle in the Lower 9th Ward; and the National Conference of Artists 21st MLK Exhibitions at locations across New Orleans. Monday concludes the celebration with three main events: an opening program begins at 9 a.m. at the New Orleans Jazz Market featuring speaker Marc H. Morial, the former mayor of New Orleans and current president and CEO of the National Urban League. The march will begin immediately after the opening program; and the “Remember, Celebrate, Act” MLK Day of Play at A.L. Davis Park (the official end of the march route).

Congress

Sen. Cory Booker to speak at MLK event for local students

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On Friday, Jan. 18, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, will keynote the “Project LIVE & Achieve” Rally for Excellence that 5,000 students from more than 20 local schools across the New Orleans area will attend. Booker is appearing at the invitation of rally hosts InspireNOLA Charter Schools and U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans. The rally is a part of InspireNOLA’s celebration of Martin Luther King weekend that focus on academic excellence and nonviolence, along with an MLK Basketball Classic on Monday, Jan. 21.

events

City offers slate of MLK Day events

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Thursday, Jan. 17
New Orleans Public Library Celebration
10:30 a.m.
East New Orleans Regional Library
5641 Read Blvd. United Teachers of New Orleans Choral Concert
6 p.m.
McDonogh 35 Preparatory High School
4000 Cadillac St. Saturday, Jan. 19
Rev. Avery C. Alexander Social Action Forum
10 a.m.
Dryades YMCA
2220 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

events

Ashé Cultural Arts Center’s MLK events aimed at unity and healing

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Ashé Cultural Arts Center is honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of commemorative events, beginning on Thursday, Jan.17. Activities include the sixth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.-César Chavez Commemorative Luncheon on Jan. 18 at the Ashé Power House, and Ashé’s annual community sing, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” on Jan. 20. For more information on these and other activities, call 504-569-9070.