Lexington MLK Day celebration to now feature minister, activist and scholar Nyle Fort
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 23, 2024) — The 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration will take place 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, beginning with the annual Freedom March and concluding with the 2 p.m. commemorative program at the Central Bank Center.
“Lexington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration is one of the longest-running programs of its kind and predates the federal holiday by 13 years,” said DeBraun Thomas, Lexington MLK Day committee member. “This program has been known for its inspiring, uplifting and always relevant messaging. And, as we navigate through what the beginning of these next four years may hold, we as people will continue to stand against all who work to dismantle the legacy of Dr. King and his vision of a ‘Beloved Community,’ past, future and present.”
The MLK Holiday Observance in Lexington provides an opportunity for the local community to come together to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of freedom, justice, peace and equal opportunity for all Americans. The annual march and program draws the participation of several thousand people from across Central Kentucky and beyond. The MLK Holiday Observance is a free public event designed to inspire and elevate King’s vision and legacy.
Due to the death on Dec. 9 of Nikki Giovanni, who was originally slated as the keynote speaker for the MLK Holiday Observance, minister, activist and scholar Nyle Fort will deliver the keynote address. Fort earned his B.A. from Morehouse College, Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and Ph.D. in Religion and Interdisciplinary Humanities from Princeton University. He studies how people resist oppression, build beloved community and struggle to transform the world. Fort’s writing is featured in The Guardian, The Boston Globe, The New York Magazine, Socialism and Democracy, Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy and There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis.
Community members can support the MLK Celebration at https://bgcf.givingfuel.com/mlk-holiday-committee-fund.
About the MLK Day Planning Committee.
Lexington’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Observance was founded in 1973, five years after the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968. Jerry Stevens, the first director of the University of Kentucky’s then-Office of Minority Student Affairs and Edgar Mack, faculty member in UK’s College of Social Work, served as founders and co-coordinators during the early days of this observance. They would later be joined by Chester Grundy, who upon his hiring, would take on the role of program coordinator in 1974.
The MLK Holiday was originally established not only to elevate the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. but to establish an undergraduate scholarship in his honor. More historical details can be found online here.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.