By Donald Gilpin

Next Monday, January 20 is a federal holiday honoring the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights leader and renowned proponent of nonviolent resistance in his quest for racial equality and justice. Many events and service opportunities will be held in the area, as Princeton and the U.S. celebrate King’s life, work, and beliefs.

“As we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are reminded that the dream he shared was not merely aspirational — it was a call to action,” Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin wrote in a January 13 email. “Today, in the face of profound division, fear, and uncertainty, his words, and his work, demand more of us than ever before.”

He continued, “Dr. King’s legacy teaches us not to surrender in the face of adversity but to rise above it. We shall overcome — not because it is inevitable, but because we are determined. We are winners.

“Let us honor Dr. King not just in words, but in deeds. Let us carry forward his fight for justice, equality, and unity with the understanding that there is no stopping us. Together, we will forge a brighter tomorrow.”

MLK Day Events

On Monday, January 20 a Multifaith Service honoring MLK and sponsored by the Princeton Clergy Association and the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) will take place at the First Baptist Church at 119 John Street and Paul Robeson Place from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The Rev. Vernon Walker, director of content and external strategy at the Progress and Poverty Institute in Princeton, will present a sermon titled “The Fight for Social Justice is More Robust When We Work Together in Unison.”

Diverse faith leaders will co-lead the liturgy, and a Community Multifaith Choir will perform. During the service an offering will be received, which will be split equally between the Poor People’s Campaign, which was King’s last campaign, and the Peace Action Education Fund of the CFPA.

Those wishing to participate in the choir and those seeking further information should visit peacecoalition.org. The Service will also be available online at facebook.com/1stbcpnj.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will be hosting an art-making workshop, food drive, and community gathering on January 20 from 1 to 3 p.m., free and open to all ages, sponsored by Princeton University Community and Regional Affairs and Lydia and Johan Pfeiffer. Under the guidance of artist Tamara Torres, attendees will explore the effects of color on emotions and they will discuss ways to express emotions through abstract art.

The Historical Society of Princeton (HSP) and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society will be providing additional community partnering activities at the ACP. Pages from a coloring book created by ACP in partnership with HSP and local historian Shirley Satterfield will be available for children to color, read through the short stories, and learn more about the town of Princeton and the businesses, stories, and contributions made by Black Princetonians, as well as details about MLK’s visit to Princeton University in1960.

Later that afternoon Torres, whose photography and collages are on display in her “Embracing Guidance” exhibition at ACP, will lead an artist talk from 4:30 to 6 p.m., with food and beverages served before and after the talk.

Participants are encouraged to bring canned goods with them to fill the ACP accessible Food Pantry coordinated in partnership with Send Hunger Packing Princeton. For more information visit artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Outdoor events will also be taking place on January 20 to honor the MLK Day of Service. The Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) will be hosting two sessions, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m., at the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, 57 Mountain Avenue.

Volunteers will be working with FOPOS’ stewardship team to battle invasive plant outbreaks, and they will also be working to free large established trees from invasive vines. “Participants will gain skills in plant identification and learn about some of the pressures New Jersey’s forests face,” states the FOPOS website.

For more information about the event, what to wear, what to bring, specific directions, and signup, visit fopos.org.

Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands (FPNL) in Kingston is also looking for volunteers to help battle invasive vines on January 20. In partnership with Kingston Greenways Association, the FPNL will be meeting at 145 Mapleton Road for a work session removing invasive vines from trees and picking up litter in the Mapleton Preserve from 12 to 3 p.m.

Participants are instructed to bring work gloves, sturdy shoes, warm clothing, and hats and also, if possible, saws, clippers, loppers, and rakes. For more information, or if you want to bring a group, call (609) 683-0483.

Kicking off area events on King’s actual birthday, February 15, the Sankofa Collaborative of Trenton will be hosting a free live virtual panel discussion titled “Confronting Jim Crow in New Jersey — Dr. King’s Activism and His Legacy” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at tinyurl.com/MLK-Sankofa.

Supported by a grant from the New Jersey Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, the program will explore King’s experiences in confronting racial discrimination and segregation in New Jersey in the 1950s and ’60s, from his first sit-in in Maple Shade when he was a seminary student to his speeches in Newark as he began the Poor People’s Campaign near the end of his life.

Panelists on the program will include the Rev. Charles F. Boyer, Salvation and Social Justice; Jean-Pierre Brutus, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; Linda Caldwell Epps, 1804 Consultants; Christopher Fisher, The College of New Jersey; Larry Hamm, People’s Organization for Progress; Khaatim Sherrer El, Clinton Hill Community Action; and Hetta V. Williams, Monmouth University.

In other area MLK Day programs, Mercer County Community College is seeking volunteers for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on the James Kerney Campus, 102 North Broad Street in Trenton on January 20. The day’s events include registration from 8 to 9 a.m., welcoming remarks from 9 to 9:30 a.m., and a variety of service projects from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by lunch provided by the MCCC Foundation, and then a service celebration performance in Trenton Hall. Visit mccc.edu/mlk for further information.

In celebrating the legacy of MLK, Capital Harmony Works, the Trenton Children’s Chorus, and Trenton Musicmakers will be presenting Songs of Hope, Courage, and Unity on January 20 at 3 p.m. at the Turning Point United Methodist Church at 15 South Broad Street in Trenton. Attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable or canned good to donate to the Rescue Mission of Trenton.