Martin Luther King, Jr. Day recognizes the birth of the civil rights leader who led marches and boycotts for equal rights in the Southern United States. It is celebrated the third Monday in January. His inspiring words and actions remind Americans everywhere to work for racial, economic, and international justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday enacted by Congress in 1983. In 1994, Congress named it as a day of service to the community in recognition of Dr. King’s service to the world community.

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Unitarian Universalist Perspectives

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr

Beacon Press, a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association, has an exclusive agreement to partner with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. in a publishing program, "The King Legacy," which gives Beacon the sole right to print new editions of previously published King titles and to compile Dr. King's writings, sermons, orations, lectures, and prayers into entirely new editions, including significant new introductions by leading scholars.

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  • This service was written by Rev. Clyde Grubbs and Mary Jane Holden, and adapted by Erika Hewitt. It uses readers—as many as ten, plus the Worship Leader—to tell the story of the Civil Rights movement as it unfolded over the course of a decade. This story was designed to be read while photos were...
    Script | By Clyde Grubbs, Mary Jane Holden, Erika Hewitt | January 4, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Solidarity
  • The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a radical. He was called “the most dangerous man in America” by the FBI and had a 17,000 page FBI file at the time of his death. It wasn’t just KKK members or those in positions of power who disagreed with him or hated him. As Cornel West explains in...
    Reading | By Aisha Ansano | February 27, 2017 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Direct Experience, History, Humanism, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity
  • In the face of hate, We answer the call of love.
    Responsive Reading | By Julia Corbett-Hemeyer | December 7, 2016 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Activism, Anti-Oppression, Commitment, Equity, Human Rights, Humanism, Indigenous Peoples Day, Justice, Justice Sunday, Living Our Faith, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Multiculturalism, Pride Sunday, Secular, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism, United Nations Day, Vision
  • Let us wake up. Not just from the Sunday morning exhaustion, from the wish for a few more drowsy minutes in bed. Let us wake up to this world we live in: to its beauty and wonder, and also to its tragedy and pain. We must wake up to this reality: that not all in our world have what we do, however...
    Opening | By Christian Schmidt | October 29, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Challenge, Direct Experience, Justice, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism
  • Holy Spirit, God of Ages and so many names, we gather once again to rejoice in the light offered to the world by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His walk on this earth was a gift to generations, and today we give thanks for that gift. We know that we are called together today not simply to...
    Prayer | By Audette Fulbright Fulson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, Anti-Oppression, Black History / Whitney Young / James Reeb, Caring, History, Human Rights, Justice, Kindness, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Anti-Oppression