MLK DAY

MLK DAY 2023

We Are the Dream: Affirming the Legacy of Martin Luther King through A Day of Art and Celebration

CEDO in partnership with ECHO, Clemmons Family Farm and the Burlington Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) Department are working together to host a Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Community Celebration.  This event is part of a nationwide initiative to make MLK Day a “day on, not a day off” in which communities engage their citizens in meaningful service and reflection. 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Community Events 2023

MLK Celebration at ECHO

Hosted by ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

Join ECHO in hosting our 11th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration. This is a free admission day sponsored by the City of Burlington and hosted in collaboration with Clemmons Family Farm.

Through musical performances, the City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign temporary exhibit, and visual art and spoken word activities curated by Clemmons Family Farm’s network of Vermont African-American/African Diaspora Artists, guests will explore this year’s theme, We Are the Dream: Affirming the Legacy of Martin Luther King through A Day of Art and Celebration. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in walk-up craft activities curated by ECHO and a civil rights panel curated by the Greater Burlington Multicultural Center.

SCHEDULED EVENTS 2023:

Monday, January 16 | 10 am – 5 pm | Free Admission for all

10:30 am

Rhymes of The Dream: An MLK Day Spoken Word Co-Creation Session with Omega Jade

Paint the Dream: A MLK Day Mural Painting Event for Kids with Julio Desmont

11:15 am

Sounds of The Dream: An MLK Day Music Co-Creation Session with Kenroy Walker

12:00 pm

Rhythms of The Dream: An MLK Day Song, Music, and Dance Performance by Clemmons Family Farm with

Edwin Owusu, MC

Kerubo Webster, Musician

Mikahely, Musician

Sekhmet (Yvonne Brunot), Dancer

1:30 pm

Sounds of The Dream: An MLK Day Music Co-Creation Session with Kenroy Walker

Paint the Dream: A MLK Day Mural Painting Event for Kids with Rosemary D’Elia

2:15 pm

Rhymes of The Dream: An MLK Day Spoken Word Co-Creation Session with Toussaint St. Negritude

3:00 pm

Civil Rights Panel by the Greater Burlington Multicultural Center with

Robert Appel, Former Director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission

Kim Carson, City of Burlington, Director of Racial Equity

Emiliano Void, Black Experience Organizer

Julia Torti, U.S. Attorney, Civil Rights Office

H. Sparks, Director of Equity, Burlington School District

James Duff Lyall, Vermont American Civil Liberties Union

Additional family-friendly walk-up activities will be available from 10 am to 5 pm.

More Information can be found on the ECHO MLK Day Webstie.

Community Events 2022

MLK Celebration at ECHO

Hosted by ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

Every year ECHO celebrates MLK Jr. Day with free admission and family-friendly scheduled activities throughout the day in partnership with CEDO. Due to COVID, this year looks a little different. ECHO will still offer free admission throughout the day, but events will take place online. Click the link below for more information on their event offerings and free MLK-themed art activities available to be picked up at ECHO and other locations.

SCHEDULED EVENTS 2022:
Streamed over YouTube

Sunday, January 16th 2022: 

3 pm: Panel Discussion: What Would Dr. King Say if He Was Alive Today?
by The Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center
Panel: T.J. Donovan, Moise St. Louis, Chol Dhoor, Henri Sparks, and Bor Yang
Moderator: Patrick Brown
Closing Speaker: Tim Wise

Monday, January 17th 2022:

12 pm: Musical & Spoken Word Celebration by Clemmons Family Farm

ECHO EVENT PAGE

MLK Celebration at UVM 2022

The Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is excited to announce UVM’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Keynote. This year’s speaker is Damon A. Williams, Ph.D., best-selling author of Strategic Diversity Leadership and The Chief Diversity Officer and one of the original architects of the Inclusive Excellence Concept in American Higher Education. A global thought leader, Dr. Williams has worked with more than 1,000 colleges and universities, Fortune 100 companies, foundations, and government agencies as a guest speaker, strategist, educator, and social impact trailblazer.

Please join the UVM community for his keynote presentation, “Looking Back, and Looking Ahead: Manifesting the Dream of Inclusive Excellence” to be held on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 from 4:00-5:30 PM at the Ira Allen Chapel and via live stream.

To celebrate the enduring legacy of Dr. King, CEDO, in collaboration with REIB, BPRW, and ECHO, has curated a list of notable locations around Burlington with cultural and historical significance in regard to the ongoing struggle for equality for all. Please find below a link to our digital map of ‘Community Treasures’.

Community Treasures Map