Last Updated on January 16, 2023, 4:37 PM | Published: January 12, 2022
NOTE: This is information for the 2022 celebration. If you are looking for the 2023 celebration, go HERE to get info.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — The 42nd annual celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is this weekend, Sunday, January 16th and then the holiday, Monday, January 17.
Sunday’s events will be services at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church and at Temple B’Nai Israel Synagogue which have been traditions for the Sunday before the holiday.
Monday will feature a breakfast, job fair, the Silent March on NE 23rd Street to the History Center for the National Bell Ringing, the program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, and the parade.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Resilient and Relentless.”
A news release by the organizers, The Oklahoma City Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Coalition, pointed to the significance of the event:
“This has always been a historic time to bring the community together, people young and old, from all walks of life and backgrounds to express and display what his dream has meant to us as people and how we can make it a reality daily in our families, communities, and places of work. We are proud that these events are inclusive of all races, creeds, and religions.”
Schedule for both days
Sunday, January 16th
3:00 PM: The Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program, at St John Baptist Church, 5700 N. Kelley, OKC
6:00 PM: “One Mic, One Voice” Program, at Temple B’nai Israel, 4901 N Penn, OKC
Monday, January 17th
7:00 AM: Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Program, at the MWC Reed Center
9:00 AM: Annual Job Fair 9 am to 1 pm, Douglass HS, 900 N. MLK, OKC
9:00 AM: Opening Program, at the Freedom Center, 2500 N. MLK Blvd. OKC
9:45 AM: Silent March, starting at the Freedom Center, ending at the Oklahoma History Center
10:45 AM: National Bell Ringing ceremony at the Oklahoma History Center
12:15 PM: The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Program, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, 127 NW 7th, OKC. The speaker will be Rev. Michael McDaniel of the Northeast Missionary Baptist Church.
2:00 PM: MLK Holiday Parade, starting at NW 6th and Walker, ending at W. Reno and Walker
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Whole community invited
“All the Oklahoma City Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Events are FREE to attend and are family-friendly events,” said William Jones with the Coalition.
Honorary Parade Marshals include OKC Sit-Inners and Minute Men. Those two groups of people were teenagers and even pre-teens who actively participated in the sit-ins carried out throughout Oklahoma City in the 1950s and 1960s to protest and challenge legal segregation in Oklahoma and Oklahoma City.
The Holiday Coalition thanks all volunteers who help each year to make the celebration the success it is each year.
It’s not too late to call and volunteer to help: For more information, please visit www.okcmlkcoalition.org or contact William Jones (405)306-8440 or Diana Johnson at (405) 255-6201.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
