Mayor Walsh announces 2020 day of celebration in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

BOSTON - Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that in partnership with Boston University, the City of Boston will present "A Day of Celebration in Honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." on Monday, January 20, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. at Metcalf Hall on the second floor of the George Sherman Union at Boston University, located at 775 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.

This year's program will spotlight women who have advocated for social justice in Boston, including Coretta Scott King and Sue Bailey Thurman. The BU Band and Inner Strength Gospel Choir will perform the music of Aretha Franklin. The event culminates with a keynote address by Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. The event is free and open to the public.

"The City of Boston is proud to continue our partnership with Boston University to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," said Mayor Walsh. "This day gives us the opportunity to pay tribute to the enormous impact of Dr. King and so many others involved in the civil rights movement. It also serves as an important opportunity to recommit ourselves to living out his dream in our community. I'm proud to invite all of Boston to mark this day with us."

"I am thrilled to serve as the keynote speaker for this event, highlighting not only Dr. King, but the female social justice champions of our time," said BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. "It is fantastic that Boston, my new home, a city that played such a pivotal role in Dr. King's life, continues to honor his legacy in so many ways, celebrating his values of peace, hope, community, and equality."

"We are ecstatic about being able to work with the City of Boston again on our annual tribute to the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a distinguished Boston University alumnus. We hope that this year's celebration will inspire, as we look at the words and legacy of Coretta Scott King and Sue Bailey Thurman and the contributions of women in the fight for Civil Rights," said Boston University Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.

In previous years, leaders such as U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, Beverly Morgan-Welch, Sonia Sanchez, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Ernest Green of the Little Rock Nine, Judy Richardson of Eyes on the Prize, and civil rights activist and filmmaker Topper Carew served as keynote speakers. Governor Deval Patrick, Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, Boston Poet Laureates Sam Cornish and Danielle Legros Georges, former Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief at Beth Israel Hospital Dr. Augustus White, and WGBH Radio host Eric Jackson are among those who have served as readers in previous years.

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