ATLANTA — The King Center is kicking off events leading up to the 2025 observation of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, with the day less than two weeks away.
Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach was at the King Center, where officials showed off their plans to carry on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of non-violence in the new year.
“Not just one day, starting now and all next week, with book readings, summits, the awards ceremony, all leading up to Jan. 20,” Dr. Bernice King, the civil rights icon’s daughter and the CEO of the King Center, said at a news conference.
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According to the CEO, the 2025 King Holiday is the 40th federal observance, marking what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King’s Jr.’s 96th birthday.
Dr. Bernice King said the events for the year focus on the theme of “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Kingian Nonviolence.”
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She also spoke about former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29 and was the president who signed the King Center into existence as a national park in 1980.
“Both President Jimmy Carter and my father showed us what is possible when your faith compels you to live and lead from a love-centered place,” Dr. Bernice King said.
The hallmark observance for the federal holiday will be the morning of Jan. 20 across the street from the King Center at Ebenezer Baptist Chruch.
The community commemorative service will start at 9 a.m. with a march in downtown Atlanta set for the afternoon, beginning at Baker and Peachtree Street at 1:45 p.m.
The march will end with a rally at the King Center.
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