38th Annual King Holiday Program

On Monday, January 20, 2025, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee of Greater Attleboro will host its 38th annual commemoration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The commemorative programs begin at 1:00 p.m. with a Municipal Program held at Attleboro City Hall, 77 Park Street. The program will feature local and state representatives and a performance by the Triboro Youth Theatre.

At 2:00 p.m., the committee will host an interfaith service at Centenary United Methodist Church, 15 Sanford Street, Attleboro. The service will feature the Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown, associate pastor, Twelfth Baptist Church, Boston, and co-founder of My City at Peace, an organization that addresses the immediate, systemic, and structural causes of violence in communities in Boston.

The service will also feature The New England Ringers, New England’s premier handbell ensemble; soloist Myra Kinds, Mansfield; pianist Daniel Hill, Providence, and a candlelight remembrance in honor of the Rev. Dr. King.

Brown will address the committee’s theme, entitled It Starts with Me: Shifting the Culture through Nonviolent Action. The committee’s theme takes its cue from the King Center’s 2024 program theme.

“As our nation and communities grow more divisive, often fueled by hate speech, and as the triple threats of militarism (war), poverty, and racism impact us locally and globally, the committee feels now is a good time for our fellow community members to examine how each can be ‘cultural climate shifters’ and peacemakers—for the collective good,” says Ethel Garvin, chairperson.

Brown will share with the citizens of Greater Attleboro how every-day people can be advocates for peace and how love is the foundation of Kingian Nonviolence and is a catalyst for shifting our culture in a more humane and peaceful direction.

The program is supported in part by a grant from the Attleboro Rotary Club.

A goodwill offering will be taken up during the interfaith service. Half of the offering will be donated to a local charity. The remainder of the offering will fund the committee’s W. Duane Lockard Scholarship and its general operating fund.

Members of the committee include Attleboro; Ethel Garvin, Attleboro; Melissa Martin, Attleboro; Jenifer DeAndrade, Attleboro; Myra Kinds, Mansfield; Dawn McKetchnie, Attleboro; Sonia Aguiar, Attleboro and Jermaine T. Patterson, Attleboro.