49th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program

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Image courtesy of the City of Alexandria

The City of Alexandria invites the community to join the 49th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program hosted by Alexandria’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Planning Committee. Together, we will honor the life and legacy of Dr. King in reverence to the King Center’s 2022 theme, It Starts With Me: Shifting Priorities to Create the Beloved Community. 

Alexandria civic leader and activist Alice P. Morgan initiated the City’s first memorial program in 1973 to honor Dr. King’s legacy and mission. The program was endorsed by then-Mayor Charles Beatley to be held on Dr. King’s birthday upon being approached by Morgan and other citizens. This was a decade prior to President Ronald Reagan signing the holiday bill into law in 1983 and three decades prior to every state recognizing and celebrating Dr. King’s birthday as a National Holiday.

This year’s celebration will feature greetings by the Honorable Senator Mark R. Warner, opening remarks by the Honorable Justin M. Wilson, Mayor. It Starts With Me: A Call to Action presented by Councilwoman Del Pepper. Performances and musical selections provided by local youth and the Alexandria City High School Orchestra, and a salutatory farewell by City Manager, Mark Jinks.

Free, webcast is here.