Land Acknowledgement – Aurora Harris Libation – Shushanna Shakur Welcome – The Rev. Anthony Estes, St. Matthew’s and St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church Lift Every Voice and Sing – Zania Alaké-vocalist, Alan Dennard-trumpet, Butter Hawkins-drums, Bill Meyer electric keyboard LaShelle’s School of Dance Stand up – Jenna Edwards, singer with Alan Dennard-trumpet, Terrance Neal-drums, Bill Meyer electric keyboard LaShelle’s School of Dance SEIU Health Care Michigan Frank Hammer, former president, UAW Local 909 – Colombian workers struggle against GM update Alexander Webb, Anishinaabe Dream Song Steve Rimmer, Detroit Tenants Union Huwaida Araf, Global Sumud Flotilla Kenneth Russell, 482Forward, Spoken word Peace and Justice Offering, music by Bill Meyer Nafisa Tazrin & Tasfia Ononena, 482Forward, MIStudentsDream, Immigration Justice J.C. ~ A Creative The People’s Spirit of Detroit Award: Marguerite Maddox, Disability Rights Fighter People’s Spirit of Detroit Awards – Long Distance Runners Presented by Malik Yakini Daii Dreamiin, U.S. General Strike Detroit, Spoken word Mark Fancher, National Conference of Black Lawyers Closing of Rally – Happy Birthday MLK by the jazz quartet
2:00pm March
2:45pm Community Meal and Fellowship in Fellowship Hall, next to the sanctuary
Video messages Spoken word Food and beverages Community discussion Cleanup – Volunteers needed
“We’ve got some difficult days ahead” Dr. King warned over fifty years ago. Today in 2025, these words echo with renewed urgency. Democracy faces unprecedented challenges as fundamental rights come under attack – from voting rights to civil liberties, from worker’s rights to climate justice.
This fight for democracy requires all of us. Every voice, every action matters. Here’s how you can get involved:
Stay Informed & Engaged – Take Action
Follow independent news sources.
Attend rallies and marches against injustice.
Join with grassroots organizations fighting for change such as Sponsors or Endorsers of the Rally.
Get active in your union, if one exists at your workplace, or help organize a union if your workplace does not have one.
Support striking workers—do not cross picket lines.
Register to vote and exercise your voting rights.
Materially support organizations fighting for liberation and justice.
As Civil Rights activist Joe Madison asked: “What are you going to do about it?”
Land acknowledgement – Sarah Torres Libations – Yvonne Jones Welcome – Priest: The Rev. Anthony Estes Allen Denard, Trumpet solo of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” LaShelle’s School of Dance – LSO Dance Company Piper Carter, Artist, Community Organizer and Activist Wardell Montgomery, Poet DJ Righteous, DJ and Spoken Word Artist Theo Pride, Detroiters for Tax Justice Maryam Lowen, Poet Aurora Harris, Lecturers Employee Organization steward Shushanna Shakur, Poet, Activist, Educator Shawn Fain, President, UAW People’s Spirit of Detroit award Offering Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Congressional Representative, Michigan 12th District Ben Will, Motown MIC, Spoken Word Winner 2022 Palestinian Youth Movement Joshua Feinstein, Jewish Voice for Peace Sonya Bonnett, DJC Community Legal Advocate Aurora Harris, Poet Nancy Parker, Executive Director of Detroit Justice Center
WHO IS HANDALA?
From approximately 1975 through 1987 Naji Al-Ali created cartoons that depict the complexities of the plight of Palestinian refugees. These cartoons are still relevant today and Handala, the refugee child who is present in every cartoon, remains a potent symbol of the struggle of the Palestinian people for justice and self-determination.
Naji Al-Ali wrote: “The child Handala is my signature, everyone asks me about him wherever I go. I gave birth to this child in the Gulf and I presented him to the people. His name is Handala and he has promised the people that he will remain true to himself. I drew him as a child who is not beautiful; his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses his thorns as a weapon. Handala is not a fat, happy, relaxed, or pampered child. He is barefooted like the refugee camp children, and he is an icon that protects me from making mistakes. Even though he is rough, he smells of amber. His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejection at a time when solutions are presented to us the American way.”
Handala was born ten years old, and he will always be ten years old. At that age, I left my homeland, and when he returns, Handala will still be ten, and then he will start growing up. The laws of nature do not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal again when the homeland returns.
I presented him to the poor and named him Handala as a symbol of bitterness. At first, he was a Palestinian child, but his consciousness developed to have a national and then a global and human horizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adopted him and felt that he represents their consciousness.”
Chuck Altman Autoworker Caravan Buck Dinner Central United Methodist Church Detroit Active & Retired Employees Association Detroit Coalition for Police Transparency & Accountability Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition Detroiters for Tax Justice Jennifer Fassbender General Baker Institute Rev. Denise Griebler & Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman Dr. Gloria House, Detroit MLK Advisory Board Huntington Woods Peace Project Jewish Voice for Peace – Detroit Nelson & Yvonne Jones Metro Detroit A. Philip Randolph Institute Mich. Coalition for Human Rights Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice Michigan Welfare Rights Organization Moratorium NOW! Coalition People’s Water Board Coalition Senior Water Systems Chemists Association Ruthven Simoms Linda Szyszko The Ron Allen Project Unite All Workers for Democracy Viola Luizzo Park Association We the People of Detroit Wisdom Institute Wobbly Kitchen
Endorsers (Organizations)
Advocates for Informed Nonviolent Social Change Arboretum Detroit Belle Isle Restoration Project Birwood House Communist Workers League Detroit Action Detroit Communist Party USA Detroit Jericho Movement Detroit Justice Center Detroit Union Education League Field Temple Freedom Road Socialist Organization General Defense Committee James and Grace Lee Boggs Center May Day Detroit Michigan Labor Solidarity Michigan Peace Council News & Letters Committees – Detroit Palestinian Youth Movement – Detroit Pan-African News Wire Party for Socialism and Liberation Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development Social Workers for Liberation – UMich Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery US Palestinian Community Network
The rally will be a virtual rally in the form of a Zoom webinar. The rally will also be accessible live on Zoom, YouTube and Facebook. As more details become available, they will be posted here and on Facebook at https://fb.me/e/20aeuAvWw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
RALLY LINEUP:
One Single Rose Acknowledgement of the Land Sylvia Orduno, Detroit Water Struggle Wardell Montgomery, poet Lloyd Simpson, People Against Corporate Takeover Line 5 struggle Sarah Torres, musician Toyia, Charlevoix Villages Association, housing/geentrification Rev. Pinkney, water crisis in Benton Harbor Joe Kidd and Sheila Burke, musician Yasmine, Palestinian Youth Movement Jesús Rodríguez-Espinoza, Orinoco Tribune, Venezuela Brittini Ward Kate McCabe, 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday Darryl Jordan, EMEAC, Climate Struggle Allen Dennard Trio Anti-war, anti-imperilist talk, Rev. Bill Iman Saleh – Yemeni Liberation Movement Bilal, poet Jorge Parra, ASTOTRECOL, fired General Motors of Columbia worker Yvonne, retiree proposal from DAREA & Moratorium NOW Keynote: Katherine Flowers, Lowndes County, COP26 close with Jae Bass recording
This year’s 18th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration comes at a time of the worst public health crisis in more than a century. At present we are facing the threat of yet another economic downturn.
Concurrently, there are rising tensions between the United States and other countries around the world including China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Zimbabwe, among others. A U.S.-led war anywhere in the world would prove catastrophic to the majority of people inside the country and internationally.
In honor of the peace and social justice legacy of Dr. King we are calling on all conscious people in southeastern Michigan and beyond to join this virtual event. Dr. King during the last year of his life was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War. King linked the rising rates of impoverishment with the failure of the ruling interests to end imperialist military adventures and occupations. He drew the connections that made him a target for the ruling class of his day. We owe it to his legacy to continue this work into the 21st century.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are holding the entire program virtually. The event will be streamed utilizing Facebook, Zoom and YouTube. Although we are not gathering in-person, the online character of the event provides the opportunity to invite guests from around the U.S. and the world.
Due to the extremely cold weather, the annual march has been cancelled. The indoor rally will be extended and the community meal and cultural event will take place as planned.
Rally and March for “Jobs, Peace & Justice”
Monday, January 21, 2019
12 Noon – 2:30 PM
Please note the NEW LOCATION
St. Matthew’s St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
8850 Woodward, Detroit 48202
(between King and Holbrook)
2:45 PM – Community meal, poetry and music (following march) at
St. Matthew’s St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
50th Anniversary Detroit 1967 Rebellion Forum and Bus Tour
Saturday, July 22, 2017
St. Matthew’s-St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
8850 Woodward, Detroit, MI 48202
9:30am – Noon: Breakfast Forum Noon – 4:00pm: Bus tour to see historic sites during July 1967 Rebellion
July 23 represents the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Rebellion in Detroit. The five days of events had a profound impact on the history of the African American Civil Rights and Black Power movements as well as shifting the character of politics in the United States as a hold.
Join the Detroit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee for a day of commemorative discussion and a tour on Sat. July 22. The event is designed to provide an accurate perspective on the social conditions that spawned the Rebellion and its influence on historical developments in Detroit, the U.S. and internationally over the last five decades.
We will open with a community breakfast at St. Matthew’s-St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church beginning at 9:30 am. At 10:00 we will hear presentations by Dorothy Aldridge, chair of the MLK Committee, who was a Civil Rights and Community activist in 1967; Dan Aldridge, another well-known activist in the city since the 1960s; Aurora Harris, a member of the MLK Committee, a poet and higher education instructor; and Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, and a co-founder of the Annual MLK Day Rally & March held in the city since 2004.
Please RSVP for the tour since seating will be limited. We are requesting a $20 donation for the breakfast and tour. If people are unable to give $20 any amount is acceptable. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Mail check or money order to Detroit MLK Committee, 5920 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48202.
Sponsored by Detroit MLK Committee • 313-405-2185 • panafnewswire@yahoo.com
mlkdetroit.org • Facebook: @MLKDayDetroit
5920 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48202
Detroit MLK Day 