Annual MLK Celebration Details Announced In Newton

NEWTON, MA — The Harmony Foundation announced Thursday that the city’s 58th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will take place on Monday, Jan. 19 at 9 a.m.

The First Unitarian Universalist Society on 1326 Washington St. is taking up the mantle of host for the second consecutive year. This year’s theme is titled “The Courage to Love Turns the Tides of Hate,” which is inspired by two speeches the Civil Rights leader gave at Iowa’s Cornell College in 1962 and New York’s Riverside Church in 1967 respectively.

“This will be an opportunity for the Harmony Foundation, our event partners, and community members to join together for reflection, music, student voices, children's programming, a reception, and more,” The Harmony Foundation Board said in a joint statement.

A large-scale food drive in memory of former Mayor Setti Warren will take place in the lead up to the event. The Rotary Club of Newton and Village Bank will have collection boxes can be found at City Hall on 1000 Commonwealth Ave., Newton Police Headquarters on 1321 Washington St., Newton Free Library on 330 Homer St., and the Scandinavian Living Center on 206 Waltham St. from Monday, Jan. 12 through Friday, Jan. 16.

Warren died unexpectedly in his Newton home last November. He served as the city’s leader from 2010 to 2018.

The Foundation was first founded in 1988 with the goal of distributing the message of equality and respect through its events. The MLK Celebration is one of its two well-known annual events, along with the Theodore D. Mann Newton Mayor’s Community Breakfast, which is held in the spring.

Interested community members can register for the upcoming celebration online.

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