The 95th anniversary of the birth of one of America’s greatest activists is fast approaching, and there are plenty of ways for you to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King was born on January 15, 1929, and became one of the most treasured and important figures of the 21st century, most famously giving his “I Have A Dream” speech whose words are still iconic to this day. King was assassinated in 1968, but those who supported his message of equality celebrate him each year on his birthday, and 2024 is no exception.

Here are five events being held on King’s birthday that will celebrate his legacy and ideals.

MLK Westside Coalition’s 39th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

In Santa Monica, a nonprofit focused on promoting and preserving the legacy of MLK is hosting its 39th annual celebration of the icon from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday. 

The Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition’s is hosting this annual celebration at the SGI-USA Santa Monica Pacific Peace Center located at 525 Wilshire Blvd. The Coalition is a nonprofit partnership of volunteers and the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica Associates, SGI-USA, RAND, City TV, and others that celebrates the ideals of MLK through this event.

The theme for the celebration is “Stop the Hate, Start the Healing,” and will include music and a brief theatrical performance. As part of the celebration, several awards for education and community service are given out, with the year seeing the debut of the Nat Trives Service Award — whose namesake served as the first African-American mayor of Santa Monica.

Remarks will also be made by keynote speaker Lisa Holder, a nationally acclaimed attorney who works to protect many of the ideas King fought for, including education equity, equal protection, and employment discrimination. Holder also served a two-year term on Governor Gavin Newsom’s Reparations Task Board.

The event is free, and you can get your ticket for the celebration here.

39th Annual Kingdom Day Parade

Arguably the biggest celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. in Los Angeles, the 39th Annual Kingdom Day parade will be taking place in the Leimert Park neighborhood from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday. 

The parade will travel about 1.5 miles from beginning to end, starting on West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Arlington Avenue traveling west down the street for several blocks. A left will be taken at Crenshaw Boulevard, after which the parade will continue to its end point at Vernon Avenue and Leimert Boulevard.

Previous parade participants have ranged from local organizations that perform as part of the parade like the Los Angeles Unified School District All-District Band and the Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Company to major organizations looking to send a message like Blue Cross Blue Shield and Farmers Insurance that have sponsored the event now or in the past.

On top of being televised by ABC7, the celebrity stock at this parade demonstrates its influence. Names like Stevie Wonder, Dave Roberts, and Keke Palmer have previously served as Grand Marshal for the parade. 

“Dream” – Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A restaurant in Inglewood will be the site of an MLK Day event that will honor King through “spoken word, acoustic soul, and conscious cinema.”

The event — titled “Dream” – will be hosted by Hannibal Media Group at Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen at 202 E.Manchester Blvd. in Inglewood from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Hannibal Media Group finds its roots in Inglewood and Long Beach and looks to “amplify arts and culture from a decidedly Pan-African perspective.”

Part of the event will be the premiere of the company’s new movie “We Are Because They Were,” a short documentary highlighting a pilgrimage to Ghana inside the slave market, the slave river, and the slave dungeons. 

There will be spoken word performances that are meant to dig into the meaning and importance of Dr. King’s message, and artists will be putting on a small “acoustic performance” — which limits sound amplification to just a personal microphone and requires no more than five artists be performing at once.

Tickets for the event are $10 and can be found here.

MLK Day Community Sing-In

For those looking for a more faith-centric celebration, the Crenshaw United Methodist Church at 3740 Don Felipe Dr., is hosting a Community Sing-In on Monday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The title of this event is “Celebrating the Songs of the Civil Rights Movement.”

The event listing notes that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday also considered a National Day of Service, and the church recognizes this event as a service to the community. Most of the people in attendance will join together to sing songs that celebrate the Civil Rights Movement, but those who do not want to sing at the event are welcome “as long as you bring and share good energy.”

Singing experience is not required, as this event is about coming together and appreciating both classic and hidden gems that came from the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement. The event is free, but space is limited.

Tickets for the event can be found here.

I Have A Dream Virtual Run

To those who want to celebrate on their own and get a good workout in, Moon Joggers has organized a run in honor of MLK that can be undertaken around your own home.

Participants in the run can choose from various distances for their I Have A Dream run, including 1 meter, 5K, 10K, a half marathon, and a full marathon. Once registered, you can complete the race from January 15 through the end of January anywhere you would like — including on a treadmill or even while competing in another race.

The registration fee to sign up for the virtual run is $20, 15 percent of which will be donated to the Equal Justice Initiative — an organization dedicated to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States. Once you have registered for the run, a bib and a commemorative medal will be sent to you to celebrate your participation

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase” will be etched onto the medal, which is one of King’s most famous quotes.

Registration can be found on Eventbrite here.

Photo by AndreyKrav