Honoring MLK Jr. Day

Week of January 18, 2021

Because of the pandemic, we are adapting how we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy this year.

We invite you to save time for two events: a United Way-hosted virtual panel discussion around how philanthropy can be a good way to move racial equity forward, as well as the annual march on MLK Jr. Day led by our longtime partners, the Seattle MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition.

Philanthropy & Advancing Racial Equity

A virtual panel featuring:

Edgar Villanueva, author of Decolonizing Wealth

Gordon McHenry, Jr., President & CEO, United Way of King County

Zamzam Mohamed, CEO and Co-Founder, Voices of Tomorrow

Andrea Caupain Sanderson, CEO, Byrd Barr Place

They’ll discuss and explore how philanthropy can work toward achieving greater racial equity.

Join us on:
1/21/2021 @ 6 p.m. PST

Register for the Event

March

In its 39th year of honoring Dr. MLK Jr.’s legacy, the Seattle MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition will be continuing its tradition of leading a march from the Central District on Jan. 18. We’re honored to have been able to support the Coalition for the past several years and this year is no different. March Details

Volunteer

If you’d like to make Dr. MLK Jr. Day a day of service, there are a number of community organizations that are hosting socially-distanced volunteer opportunities throughout King County. Volunteer Details

More

There are many other activities happening in the community to honor Dr. MLK Jr.’s legacy. Register for one (or more!) of the virtual workshops taking place Jan. 12-16, and tune into the virtual Youth Event on Jan. 17.

View more events:

About Our Support of MLK Jr. Day

Historical and systemic racism drive racial inequities in our community, including Black, Indigenous, Latino and other people of color experiencing disproportionately high levels of homelessness, education inequities and poverty in King County.

Not only has the COVID-19 crisis disproportionately impacted communities of color, the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many other Black people elevated the national conversation around racism and racial justice.

It is against this backdrop that we’ve given much thought and intention to how we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy this year.

Our mission is to bring people together.

To foster learning and conversation around racial equity in a way that is more safely accessible amidst the pandemic, we are bringing thought and community leaders together in a racial equity-centered virtual panel discussion to explore the topic of how philanthropy can advance racial equity in the community.

For nearly four decades, the Seattle MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition has brought people together to celebrate and honor Dr. King’s legacy by organizing the MLK Jr. Day March and many additional activities. We are honored to continue our years-long partnership with them and support their efforts again this year through volunteer management and financial support.

Though this year may be different from how we honored Dr. King’s legacy in the past, we encourage you to engage, learn, act in the community, and both nourish and build authentic partnerships. Next year, we anticipate including large-scale volunteer opportunities as an additional opportunity to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.

FAQs

Can United Way help my company organize a large volunteer project?

In order to focus on the racial equity-centered virtual panel event and also support Seattle MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition’s march, we will not be working with individual companies around volunteer opportunities this year. You can find volunteer opportunities that other nonprofit organizations are hosting through our volunteer site. Details coming soon.

Will this change around volunteering be a permanent one in how United Way celebrates and honors MLK Jr. Day?

No. This shift from large-scale volunteerism to two key events is a result of the Stay Home, Stay Healthy mandate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Next year, we expect to celebrate and honor MLK Jr. Day in ways similar to years past, including supporting a significant number of volunteer opportunities.