How to celebrate MLK Day in Fayetteville in 2023

2019 MLK Freedom March (Flyer photo/Todd Gill)

There are several opportunities to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in Fayetteville.

A full weekend of events are planned, which culminate with the annual Freedom March and Noon Day Vigil on Monday Jan. 16 on the University of Arkansas campus.

The Northwest Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council recently announced a series of events that include appearances by philosopher, activist, social critic and actor Cornel West, who is set to speak at Saturday’s MLK Recommitment Celebration Reception at the Fayetteville Town Center. The 2023 celebration returns as an in-person event for the first time since 2020.

The event will recognize this year’s Salute to Greateness Award recipients, which include: Lorie Huff for the Dr. John L Colbert Lifetime Achievement Award; Helena Gadison for the Ernestine White-Gibson Individual Achievement Award; Michael Day, for the Rodney Momon Youth/Young Adult Award; John Newman for the Rev. J.A. Hawkins Posthumous Award; and the Squire Jehegan Outreach Center for the Organization of the Year Award.

A full list of events for the 27th Annual MLK Holiday Celebration is included below:

Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Community Service Project – 9-11 a.m. at Asbell Elementary School
27th Annual MLK Recommitment Celebration – 6:30 p.m. at the Fayetteville Public Library’s Event Center

Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service – 3 p.m. at Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church

Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

MLK Dream Keepers Youth Breakfast – 8 a.m. at Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House (UA Campus)
MLK Dream Keepers’ Youth Engagement Program – 9:30 a.m. at University of Arkansas HPER Building (UA Campus)
MLK Freedom March – 11 a.m. at the corner of MLK Jr. Boulevard and Razorback Road
UARK Noon-Day Vigil – 12 p.m. at the Faulkner Center for Performing Arts (UA Campus)