23rd Annual MLK Day Rally
Monday, January 19, 2026 at 12 Noon
St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
8850 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI
2026 Detroit MLK Day
Author: MLK Detroit
2025 Detroit MLK Day
22nd Annual MLK Day Rally and March
Monday, January 20, 2025 at 12 Noon
St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
8850 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI
WE WILL FIGHT BACK!
View the Rally on YouTube:
CALL TO ACTION
“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?”
Poster (13″ x 19″):
Leaflet (8.5″ x 11″):
Palm Cards (4″ x 6″)
2024 Detroit MLK Day
Video of Rally:
Parking areas near 8850 Woodward
Rally Lineup
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.”
Reprinted from: handala.org
Sponsors
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
2023 Detroit MLK DAY
2022 Detroit MLK Day
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
Register in advance for this Zoom webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_f7R1w_ZPTUyaX8WwlS6XAQ
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
2021 Detroit MLK Day
18th Annual Detroit MLK Day
Virtual Rally & Cultural Program
Program starts at noon
Streamed online through YouTube at https://youtu.be/7q7QdR5DSDI
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.
2020 Detroit MLK Day
17th Annual MLK Day
Rally and March for “Jobs, Peace & Justice”
Monday, January 20, 2020
Historic St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
12 Noon – Rally
1:30 PM – March through the North End
8850 Woodward, Detroit 48202
(between King and Holbrook)
2:45 PM – Community meal, poetry and music (following the march) at
St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church
2020 MLK Detroit leaflet
2020 MLK Detroit poster 13×19
March Route
1. Marchers exit St. Matthew/St. Joseph Episcopal Church at 1;30 PM and gather on King Street, just east of Woodward Ave.
2. March steps off at about 2:00 PM westbound on King St., crossing Woodward Avenue and continuing west on Gladstone St.
3. Turning north onto Second Ave. March continues north on Second Ave. to Clairmount Street.
4. March turns east onto Clairmount St., crossing Woodward Ave. and continuing east on Owen St. until Oakland St.
5. March turns south onto Oakland St. using right hand lane until it reaches King St.
6. March turns west onto King St. and continues to St. Matthew/St. Joseph Episcopal Church, where marchers will then re-enter the church.
2019 Detroit MLK Day
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
2018 Detroit MLK Day
Rally and March for “Jobs, Peace & Justice”
Monday, January 15, 2018
12 Noon
Central United Methodist Church
23 E. Adams and Woodward, Detroit
Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Special Assistant to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Schedule:
Noon – Rally at Central United Methodist Church
1:30 pm – Freedom March through downtown Detroit
3:00 pm – Community meal, poetry and music, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, I-75 & Woodward Avenue, Detroit
St. John’s Episcopal Church is located north of the parking lot that is next to the Central United Methodist Church.
Download palm card and poster: 2018 MLK Detroit palm card v2 MLK Day 2018 poster
50th Anniversary Detroit 1967 Rebellion Tour
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 