HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL NR 2020-01-09 MLK celebration
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
January 9, 2020
Media Contact:
Leah Kosin, Assistant Public Information Officer
lkosin@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2781
29th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Scheduled for
Monday, January 20, 2020
Leesburg, VA (January 9, 2020) –
The annual Martin Luther King, Jr.
March and Celebration will be held
on Monday, January 20, 2020. The
theme of this year’s celebration is
“Community: A Vision for Our
Future”.
Marchers will gather on the
Loudoun County Courthouse lawn
in downtown Leesburg at 10 a.m.
and will proceed from the
courthouse on East Market Street
to the Douglass Community Center
(405 East Market Street) beginning at 10:30 a.m. Individuals, families, churches, and community
organizations are invited to participate and walk together during the march.
East Market Street, from King Street to Church Street, will be closed at 9:30 a.m. in preparation
for the march. Once the march begins, rolling street closures will take place in the eastbound
lanes of East Market Street, from Church Street to the Douglass Community Center, as the
parade proceeds. Drivers should follow police direction and be prepared for minor delays.
Following the march, refreshments will be served at the Douglass Community Center. Musical
performances, presentations, and inspirational offerings will be made by members of the
community, including keynote speaker Dr. Jason Nichols.
Nichols is an award winning full-time lecturer in the African American Studies Department at
the University of Maryland College Park and was the long time editor-in-chief of Words Beats &
Life: The Global Journey of Hip Hop Culture, the first peer-reviewed journal of Hip-hop studies.
Nichols is also a progressive political and social analyst whose work has been featured in
publications such as The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Foxnews.com, NBCNews.com, and more. Dr.
Nichols currently cohosts "The Fifth Element" talk radio show on WPFW 89.3fm in Washington,
DC.
There will also be a community forum offered at Douglass from 9 to 10 a.m. featuring a
dialogue between youth and elders.
Attendees to the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration are encouraged to participate in a canned
food drive to benefit Loudoun Hunger Relief. This local charity has a special need for
nonperishable meat products. Drop off area for the food drive will be at Douglass Community
Center from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The founding sponsors for this event are the Loudoun NAACP, Douglass Alumni Association,
Bluemont Concert Series, and the Baha’i Community of Loudoun. Individuals, families, schools,
businesses, civic, and religious organizations are all welcome to participate. For more
information, contact Tammy Carter at 571-331-4721, Kimberly Etherith at 703-314-1491, or Lily
Dunning at 540-539-5651.
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