(Editor’s note: This article was updated Jan. 11 to add the People’s Health & Resource Clinic)
After two years of virtual events due to the pandemic, local organizations are reverting to in-person celebrations for 2023’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The federal holiday, held this year on Monday, Jan. 16, commemorates the birth of the civil rights leader, who won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation in the U.S. and secure equal treatment under the law for all.
Local MLK Day events include the following:
The 43rd Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Service
- When: 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15
- Where: Trinity Lutheran Church, 31 S. Duke St., Lancaster
- Cost: Free; donations accepted
This year’s featured speaker is state Rep. Joanna McClinton, leader of the Democratic caucus in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The service will include music and spoken-word pieces centered on the theme, “The Unarmed Truth.”
A pre-event reception is planned at 4 p.m. Space is limited; to RSVP, call (717 )723-8892.
The 35th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast
- When: 7 to 9:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 16.
- Where: Student Memorial Center, Millersville University
- Cost: $75 (in-person), $25 (livestream) or pay-what-you-will (in-person) For tickets, click here; sales end at noon Monday, Jan. 9.
This year’s breakfast will feature Marc Lamont Hill, host of BET News and a political commentator on CNN. His topic is “And How Are the Children … Now?” This is a return appearance for Hill, who headlined the event in 2018.
The breakfast will be emceed by Jeremy Jenkins of WGAL and features Pedro Rivera, president of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, as honorary event chair. It is Crispus Attucks Community Center’s largest annual fundraiser, and all proceeds go toward supporting its programs.
The breakfast will include presentations of Crispus Attucks’ annual community awards, including a new “Roses” Award.
YWCA Lancaster MLK Day Celebration
- When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16
- Where: Maureen Powers Room, YWCA Lancaster, 110 N. Lime St., Lancaster.
- Cost: Free, but registration is required.
Hosted by YWCA Lancaster’s Center for Racial & Gender Equity, this event features group readings of the children’s books “Child of the Civil Rights Movement” by Paula Young Shelton and Raul Colon, and “Antiracist Baby” by Ibram X. Kendi. Readings will be conducted by local community leaders, including newly elected state Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El.
Registered children will be eligible to receive a free copy of either book or “Martin Rising” by Andrea Davis Pickney while supplies last.
People’s Health & Resource Clinic
- When: Noon to 4 p.m.
- Where: Community Mennonite Church, 328 W. Orange St., Lancaster.
- Cost: Free
Hosted by the South Central Healthcare Rights Committee of Put People First! PA and allied advocacy groups, the clinic will feature food, family-friendly activities, blood pressure and glucose screenings, assistance in registering for state benefits, information on resources and a discussion of rules changes that are expected to result in millions of people losing Medicaid eligibility.
