Seattle’s 42nd Annual MLK Celebration:
We Rise Against Project 2025
Seattle’s MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition invites PSARA members to Seattle’s 42nd Annual MLK Day Celebration. The election underscores the need to mobilize against broad and sustained assaults on human and civil rights under the incoming administration, as outlined in Project 2025. We expect a robust turnout for the Career and Opportunity Fair, Community Workshop Series, rally, and march on January 20, and the community discussions taking place in the preceding week.
The day begins with the MLK Career and Opportunity Fair, where job seekers take steps toward exciting career opportunities and meaningful connections. Over 50 vendors include companies ready to hire, apprenticeship programs, and organizations focused on career exploration. Attendees can polish their resumes with coaching, attend career workshops, or simply explore opportunities. We’re creating an inclusive, welcoming space with multilingual support and accommodations for all attendees, plus snacks and hospitality. The Fair kicks off at 8 a.m. on January 20 at Garfield High School. We’ll build pathways to success while honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of equity and economic justice.
This year’s MLK Community Workshop Series builds bridges between movements and communities to build solidarity and resist threats to democracy and justice. We’ll offer 15 workshops on the morning of MLK Day (January 20 from 9:15 - 10:40 a.m.) at Garfield High School. We’ll also host standalone
workshops on Thursday, January 16 and Saturday, January 18 to support deeper presentations and community discussions on critical topics.
Workshop information will be posted on the MLK Coalition website. Please look for detailed information on the site starting in early January, and be sure to check back for any changes and additions. A printed workshop brochure will be available on site at Garfield.
​Our Monday workshops will focus on strategies and resources for effective movement building. Among the offerings are:
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Choosing Your Cause
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Well-Being for Activists
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Support for Immigrant Justice While the Movement Is Under Threat
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Keeping Us Safe in Seattle’s Surveillance City
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Creating Community-Centered
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Housing and Economic Systems
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Climate Justice Panel: People of Color on the Frontlines
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Strategies for Countering Right-Wing Movements
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Building Solidarity in Opposition to Project 2025
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Healing Together: A Community Event for Violence Prevention
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Cultural Reconnection: Return to the African Homeland
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Building Support for African American Reparations
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Reclaiming Education: BIPOC Youth Leading the Way to Transformation
For the past two years, we’ve piloted more extended community discussions on urgent community issues in the week preceding MLK Day. This year, we’ll hold two.
JR to 25: We Cannot Turn Back centers on the state’s troubling juvenile rehabilitation plan, including new facility construction, which doesn’t address the paucity of therapeutic services and staff’s inability to control violence at its facilities. Sponsored by Team Child and Kids Are Kids, the event begins at 5:30 with a community meal followed by discussion from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The event takes place at Washington Hall on Thursday, January 16.
A community discussion on youth gun violence will be held on Saturday, January 18 from 1 - 3 p.m. at the Northwest African American Museum. Please join community leaders, activists, and families as we learn about causes and dynamics of youth gun violence, who perpetrates it, how we are affected by it, and strategies to mobilize against it. The event will be followed by a community meal at 3 p.m. and a program organized by the MLK Coalition’s Young Leaders program at 4 p.m.
Following the Monday morning workshops, the rally will begin at 11 a.m. in the Garfield gym. Our focus this year will be on Project 2025 and youth gun violence. We will honor the legacy of the late Dr. Maxine Mimms, the visionary founder of the Evergreen State College’s Tacoma campus. The
Reverend Dr. Kelle Brown will be among our speakers.
The march will leave Garfield High School at 12:30 p.m. Please dress warmly and come with your signs, banners, bullhorns, and whatever else you need to make your presence visible and powerful. Please check the MLK Coalition website for final details on transportation, food, and other details.
This is the time to stand in solidarity for our rights! Let’s flex our political muscle. Please join us, and bring 10 of your friends and allies.