King Center to honor 30th year of MLK holiday

Associated Press

ATLANTA

The King Center in Atlanta is set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday today at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The commemorative service caps more than a week of events meant to celebrate the slain civil-rights icon’s legacy.

The overarching theme of this year’s celebration is “Remember! Celebrate! Act! King’s Legacy of Freedom for Our World.”

“What most people around the world want, whatever nation they live in, is the freedom to participate in government, the freedom to prosper in life and the freedom to peacefully coexist,” said King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King.

The theme of freedom is especially meaningful this year, she said, because it is the 50th anniversary of her father going to Chicago to highlight the need for open and fair housing.

King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in January 1966 announced plans for the Chicago Freedom Movement.

In a nod to that legacy, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro is set to speak at today’s service.

Also set to bring greetings at the service is Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, charge d’affaires to the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba.

The Rev. William Barber II, president of the NAACP in North Carolina, is set to deliver the keynote address.