Each year the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission Celebrates King Week in January in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Commission leads the community effort of various events paying tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A wide variety of educational, inspirational and celebratory events take place at locations across Knoxville.
2022 MLK Commemorative Commission Leadership Awards Luncheon
Knoxville's Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission celebrated their 40th anniversary at the annual MLK Leadership Awards Luncheon on January 13, 2022. Several City staff members attended, as well as local community and business leaders. The event was thought-provoking, hopeful and celebratory -- especially when our very own Director of Community Empowerment Charles Lomax Jr. received the Award for Diversity Champion. Author Nona Jones gave the keynote presentation. See videos below.
MLK, Jr. Commemoration Set for January 12, 2022 through June 19, 2022
The MLK Commemorative Commission will observe the 40th Annual King Week Celebration starting January 12, 2022. The 2022 theme, "Forty Years of Not Turning Around; Continuing the Journey for Justice and Equality", is attributed to the Dream and the Dreamer who affirmed, "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. And Justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love."
View Commemorative Events
MLK, Jr. Commemoration Set for January 13, 2021 through June 19, 2021
The MLK Commemorative Commission will observe the 39th Annual King Week Celebration starting January 13, 2021. The 2021 theme, A Legacy of Righteous Purpose: Social Justice and racial Equality - A Must Reality, is attributed to the Dream and the Dreamer who affirmed, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars".
View Commemorative Events
Knoxville's MLK Commission Plans Events for King Week 2020
For the 38th year, Knoxville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission presents its annual King Week Celebration, which includes several opportunities to contemplate the life and legacy of the civil rights leader. This year’s theme – “Let Freedom Ring: Through Social Justice, Economic Empowerment, Love, Peace and Unity” – will echo through the week’s events and is reflected in the works on display through Jan. 31 in the MLK Gallery of Arts Tribute exhibit at the Arts and Culture Alliance at The Emporium, 100 S. Gay St.
Read More