BY DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

The MLK Holiday Planning Committee will kick off its annual Bowling Green celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Thursday followed by main event programming Monday.

The local program, themed “Mission Possible: Protecting freedom, justice and democracy in the spirit of nonviolence 365,” is among multiple planned by several organizations in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“I think this year that we can be unified and we can come together because, as always, we have not achieved Dr. King’s dream yet, and sometimes, the dream looks far away – but we can come together and unify and protect freedoms when it comes to justice, when it comes to equality,” said Ryan Dearbone, speaking as the MLK Holiday Planning Committee vice chair (separately, he’s the president of the Bowling Green-Warren County NAACP). “So, we’re going to lean in on the themes of protecting those inalienable rights for everybody and especially looking at how we can do that.”

The committee will kick off Thursday’s programming with a “Black Market,” comprising Black vendors, 5-6 p.m. at Next Level Church, 1405 Veterans Memorial Lane. The day’s main event, scheduled for 6 p.m., will feature a community youth choir, a spoken word presentation by community leader the Rev. Danielle Brown, a video and song presentation by the choir, a proclamation by city and county officials and an MLK celebration overview by MLK Holiday Planning Committee Chair Felicia Bland, according to the event flyer; the Black Market will be open for another 30 minutes after the program.

Monday will begin with an MLK breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary, with $15 tickets available at the BG Human Rights Commission; funds go toward the 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, Dearbone said.

All are invited for the 10 a.m. MLK March, from the Warren County Justice Center, at 1001 Center St. to the State Street Baptist Church, at 340 State St.

The main event, a commemorative MLK celebration, will follow at the church at 11 a.m.

Tony-nominated producer and playwright David Greer will perform a dramatic reading of MLK’s letter from Birmingham Jail, Dearbone said. The committee will also recognize Abraham Williams and Wathetta Buford, who passed away last year, as recipients of its 2025 humanitarian award, and hold a fundraiser for the Abraham Williams Scholarship Fund at Western Kentucky University.

Jeremiah Castille – founder of the nonprofit Jeremiah Castille Foundation and chaplain for the University of Alabama football team – will be the keynote speaker.

“(Martin Luther King Jr. Day) was the foundation in which we all should live and that said all men should be equal, and that we should work together in the spirit of brotherhood and unity – and until that is achieved, we’ve got to keep going,” the committee chair, Bland, said. “Our nation appears to be divided, and this is a time more than ever that we need to come together and make sure that our city, our town, our America is a place that we all can live and thrive and treat each other like brothers and sisters.”

Added Dearbone, “This is not just a one-day celebration that’s antiquated for a person’s dream and vision, but this is an active process that we all need to and must take part in order for us to be equal, especially in the climate we’re living in today.”

On Jan. 22, Community Projects, Inc. will hold its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Walk Celebration from 8:15 a.m. at Jesus Church of Russellville, 637 East 5th St., to the Logan County Courthouse; civil rights icon Charles D. Neblett will deliver the keynote address, “Resilience and Gratitude: A Legacy of Service,” which will highlight the importance of service and unity.