Starting this weekend, Americans across the country will honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with different celebrations that pay tribute to his legacy, as well as acts of community service.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday (Monday, Jan. 16) is a national day of service, as well as a fitting time to recommit to serving our communities as a way of honoring and transforming King’s life and teachings into action. King also acknowledged the power of music as an “instrument of change,” so it’s fitting that musical concerts still serve as a way to honor one of the country’s most important historical figures.
Here are some concerts and other events happening around this year’s holiday:
[Editor’s note: This event was updated] Historian Julian Hayter, associate professor in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, will moderate a panel discussion on the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Wyatt T. Walker, King’s chief strategist as part of their “Shaping Tomorrow Today” MLK celebration on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. University of Richmond Boatwright Memorial Library, 261 Richmond Way.
Richmond’s own progressive jazz masters, Butcher Brown, will collaborate with the Richmond Symphony for a Pops concert worthy of Dr. King’s musical dream. Locally famous and internationally respected, Butcher Brown has taken the history of jazz and fused it with funk, hip-hop, rap, rock, and soul. This time, the Richmond Symphony gets in on the action. Expect a truly innovative evening featuring a new dimension of inclusive music and artistic development for the audience’s listening pleasure.
Butcher Brown with the Richmond Symphony takes place on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. at the Carpenter Theatre, 600 E. Grace St. Tickets are available here.
The Richmond Symphony also performs an MLK Community Concert with a unique and diverse repertoire featuring spirituals, hymns, and other compositions by Black musicians past and present. Also performing during the concert will be Brown Ballerinas for Change, a social justice organization formed to increase participation of underrepresented populations in ballet. Photographs of the young girls dancing in front of Confederate monuments were part of the iconic imagery that came out of the 2020 racial justice uprisings. Isaac Wilson, a member of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, will be a featured violin soloist. (King’s actual birthday is on Sunday, Jan. 15, though the federal holiday is Jan. 16.)
MLK Community Concert is held on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. at the Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education, 11810 Centre St. in Chester. Tickets for this show are available here.
SOAR365 provides employment opportunities for adults with disabilities. Last year, the nonprofit served almost a hundred individuals at their Westwood location. The spaces in which they offer programs are heavily used and in need of refreshing. In honor of Dr. King’s call to service, SOAR365 invites volunteers with painting experience to help them clean and repaint several common areas, including the central cafeteria, as well as whitewashing an old mural that covers several walls. Volunteers are advised to dress to get messy. All materials and supplies will be provided, but volunteers are welcome to bring personal tools. Water and snacks will be provided.
SOAR365 Paint Day takes place on Monday, Jan. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Address provided when volunteers sign up. To register: Visit HandsOn Greater Richmond | Celebrate MLK Day with Service at SOAR365! (handsonrva.org).
Rise Against Hunger is growing a global movement to end hunger by empowering communities, nourishing lives, and responding to emergencies. In honor of MLK Jr. Day, the Richmond Rise Against Hunger group is hosting an afternoon of service to package more than 30,000 nutritious meals for distribution to children, families and communities facing hunger around the world. Parents are welcome to bring their children to the event, but they must stay with a parent or guardian at all times. One-hour shifts are available on the registration page.
Rise Against Hunger’s day of service is held on Monday, Jan. 16 from 3 – 7 p.m. at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond, 2410 Ownby Lane. To register, go here.
To celebrate the 7th annual National Day of Racial Healing, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and Coming Together Virginia will host singer Desirée Roots and the Weldon Hill Ensemble. The Grammy-nominated vocalist has had a long career in theater, dance, and music. Her ability to sing nearly every musical genre –jazz, gospel, opera, and popular music– have led to her sharing the stage with legendary blues guitarists Buddy Guy and B.B. King, saxophonists Gerald Albright and Boney James, opening for Brian McKnight, and being a featured vocalist with the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony. Proceeds benefit Coming Together Virginia (formerly Coming to the Table), whose vision is of a racially healed world of thriving, equitable and just communities.
National Day of Racial Healing Concert, the Movement, the Music and the Magic feat. Desiree Roots and the Weldon Hill Ensemble takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, 428 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.
University of Richmond will also hold: A Beloved Community Gathering will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 4-6 p.m. at Tyler Haynes Commons, Alice Haynes Room. The community will gather for food, conversation, reflection, and live performances. Exhibition: Jan. 9-20, 2023, Lobby of Heilman Dining Center; The RVA Community Makers Exhibition will be on view throughout the event series.
