"Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the existence of justice for all people."
- "When Peace Becomes Obnoxious," March 18, 1956
A Message From Dr. Rao
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Written especially for VCU's 2022 MLK Celebration, this show explores Dr. King's lesser known speeches, sermons and writings, illuminating his call to action and what it means for us as a community today.
Every performance will include a facilitated talkback with the audience, cast and crew.
Free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, performances will adhere to COVID protocols: masks required, temperature checks and socially distanced seating.
Scheduled performances:
January 17, 7PM: Boys and Girls Club, 1830 Creighton Rd
January 19, 10AM: Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School January 19, 2:30PM: Armstrong High School (Performances on January 19th are for Richmond Public School students only.)
January 22, 3PM: Robinson Theater Community Arts Center, 2903 Q St
January 23, 3PM: Grace Street Theatre, 934 W Grace St This is a rescheduling of the originally planned Jan 16th event
Click on the date above to filter the events listing.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Volunteer Opportunities
January 15-17, 2022 | Various start times, most in the AM | HandsOn Greater Richmond
More than 15 opportunities for community service over 3 days!
Sign up for a slot on one of many projects occurring in our region and make this a day on, not a day off for you and your family. Most projects are family friendly. When you are volunteering, please follow these tips for healthy volunteering. HandsOn Greater Richmond emphasizes the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing, and not volunteering if you don't feel well.
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 16, 2022 | 3PM | Grace Street Theatre, 934 W Grace St
This event has been canceled due to the forecast for dangerous winter weather. We apologize to those whose plans have been impacted.
We are working to reschedule; please check back for information on a new performance date and time.
Walk Around the Lake @ U of R
January 16 - 21, 2022 | Anytime | Westhampton Lake Trail
Reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as you walk around Westhampton Lake and read a series of panels. No registration is required.
"Mending Walls" film screening & panel discussion
January 16, 2022 | 2-4PM (Virtual) | HandsOn Greater Richmond, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, and VPM
"Mending Walls" is a documentary about the groundbreaking public art project Mending Walls RVA which aims to establish empathy and connection through art. Watch “Mending Walls,” on your own then join a live panel discussion and breakout sessions to explore themes from the film.
MLK Dinner & Gala at Kabana Rooftop
January 16, 2022 | 6-11PM | LXGRP, 700 East Main Street
Join us this Sunday at Kabana Rooftop for the Pre-Celebration of MLK Day! Live Jazz Music, Dinner, and Afterparty for only $35.00 per ticket.
6pm until 8pm - Buffet Dinner curated by Chef Larry 8pm until 11pm - Afterparty with Polo Brown
Early Bird Specials
$35/Singles $65/Couples
Tickets and Dinner Menu now available at www.KabanaRooftop.com To Ensure Social Distance we are only selling 125 Tickets for this Event VIP Table Packages: Karl@lxgrp.com or Holly@lxgrp.com
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Volunteer Opportunities
January 15-17, 2022 | Various start times, most in the AM | HandsOn Greater Richmond
More than 15 opportunities for community service over 3 days!
Sign up for a slot on one of many projects occurring in our region and make this a day on, not a day off for you and your family. Most projects are family friendly. When you are volunteering, please follow these tips for healthy volunteering. HandsOn Greater Richmond emphasizes the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing, and not volunteering if you don't feel well.
MLK Day of Service @ East End and Evergreen Cemeteries
January 17, 2022 | 8:30AM | Enrichmond Foundation
East End and Evergreen Cemeteries are historic African-American cemeteries. and are the resting place for many of Richmond’s African-American leaders.
Volunteer tasks include clearing overgrowth and debris from pathways and grave markers. Volunteers please dress for very cold weather: long pants, closed toe shoes, and bring outdoor work gloves.
Volunteers will report to the VCU Commons at 8:30am on the 17th to sign the Volunteer Agreement. Transportation is provided for all VCU-affiliated volunteers. Questions, contact Nico Orsini at orsinin@vcu.edu.
A live reading of MLK's LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL
January 17, 2022 | 10AM | St. James's Episcopal Church, 1205 West Franklin Street
Feel the power of a landmark civil rights moment at this FREE live reading --plus music--of MLK's powerful Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
VCU Health Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration
January 17, 2022 | 11AM-12PM | VCU Health Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Virtual)
The VCU Health Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will celebrate at a Zoom webinar the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to creating a united community. Questions: https://intranet.vcuhealth.org/event/81165/vcu-health-martin-luther-king-jr-day-celebration-event?channelId=76173. Join the webinar at the following URL. For more information, contact Adam Austin at acaustin@vcu.eduor (804) 243-2638 or visithttps://vcuhealth.zoom.us/j/95142572449.
9th MLK COMMUNITY DAY
January 17, 2022 | 1 – 2:30 PM | Project Give Back To Community, Richmond City Sheriff's Office, 1701 Fairfield Way
Project Give Back To Community with partners Dr. Sheriff Irving and Richmond City co-host MLK Community Day 2022.
This year’s theme is “Building Better Communities Through Social Entrepreneurship.” Featuring guest speaker Wallo267. MLK is no stranger to entrepreneurship and social impact. We will be discussing how the two come together to build better communities for the current and next generation.
VCU community will gather silently to reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s accomplishments. There will be tributes by way of music and speech.
Students, faculty, staff and the VCU community will meet at the Art Depot on Broad Street and will silenlty march to the student commons with candles.
20th Annual MLK Drum Major Awards & Celebration
January 17, 2022 | 6 – 8PM | L2L Leadership Institute, 22 E Leigh St and Online
This annual event celebrates the accomplishments of servant leaders and unsung heroes.
The awards program will be both in-person and virtually online and will take place at LUX Church located at 22 E Leigh St, Richmond, VA 23219
Urban Financial Services Coalition, Boaz & Ruth, Fifth Street Baptist Church, and LUX Church welcome you the to celebrate the life and legacy of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Attendees will listen to soul searching musical presentations, be inspired by presentations from today’s youth, and celebrate the accomplishments of the leaders and organizations that receive this year’s MLK Drum Major Awards for making a difference in the lives others.
This year’s keynote speaker is Levar Stoney, Mayor of the City of Richmond.
Performances will include: Signs of Praise, the 5th Street Baptist Church Choir, and Richmond Poet Laureate Roscoe Burnems.
Event timeline: 5:45 - 6:00 Stage - Meditation Moment 6:00 - 7:30 - Program Begins 7:30 - 8:00 - Networking
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 17, 2022 | 7PM | Boys and Girls Club, 1830 Creighton Rd
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(First-come, first served. All patrons must wear masks. COVID protocols in place.)
Walk Around the Lake @ U of R
January 16 - 21, 2022 | Anytime | Westhampton Lake Trail
Reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as you walk around Westhampton Lake and read a series of panels. No registration is required.
Lunch and Learn: Walker Collection at U of R
January 18, 2022 | 7PM | University of Richmond (Virtual)
University of Richmond's Boatwright Memorial Library is home to the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection. Walker served as chief strategist for Martin Luther King Jr. and was hailed as “one of the keenest minds of the nonviolent revolution” by King himself. Dr. Thad Williamson and Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher taught a fall 2021 course titled “Re-Imagining American Democracy: Learning from the Life of Wyatt Tee Walker.” This event is a virtual lunch and learn with Taylor McNeilly, processing and reference archivist at Boatwright Memorial Library, Dr. Williamson, Dr. Crutcher, and students in the course to learn more about the collection and what we can all learn from Wyatt Tee Walker.
Walk Around the Lake @ U of R
January 16 - 21, 2022 | Anytime | Westhampton Lake Trail
Reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as you walk around Westhampton Lake and read a series of panels. No registration is required.
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 19, 2022 | 10AM | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 1000 Mosby St
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(This performance for RPS Students only.)
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 19, 2022 | 2:30PM | Armstrong High School, 2300 Cool Ln
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(This performance for RPS Students only.)
Walk Around the Lake @ U of R
January 16 - 21, 2022 | Anytime | Westhampton Lake Trail
Reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as you walk around Westhampton Lake and read a series of panels. No registration is required.
Walk Around the Lake @ U of R
January 16 - 21, 2022 | Anytime | Westhampton Lake Trail
Reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as you walk around Westhampton Lake and read a series of panels. No registration is required.
Racial Truth: Just Futures for Children & Young People Rally
January 21, 2022 | 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM (Virtual) | Voices for Virginia's Children
Join us as we rally on behalf of a just future for children and young people through this day of action. Advocates will hear our 2022 rally priorities to call attention urgent issues to improve overall child health and well-being this General Assembly Session and beyond. Engage with community members, legislators, partners, peers, and hear directly from youth as we advocate for a just future for Virginia's children through truth telling, healing-centered engagement, legislative action, and community building.
Share Your Story:If you would like to share your story prior to the event to influence policy and advocacy, please email Kristin@vakids.org.
Walk Around the Lake @ U of R
January 16 - 21, 2022 | Anytime | Westhampton Lake Trail
Reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders as you walk around Westhampton Lake and read a series of panels. No registration is required.
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 22, 2022 | 3PM | Robinson Theater Community Arts Center, 2903 Q St
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
This performance hosted by the VCU Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
(First-come, first served. All patrons must wear masks. COVID protocols in place.)
January 22, 2022 | 12PM | 907 Floyd Avenue Suite 104
Join the Activities Planning Board in celebrating the life of MLK through a daytime panel discussion, entrepreneurship market, and evening of music and arts. More details to come.
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 23, 2022 | 3PM | Grace Street Theatre, 934 W Grace St
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(First-come, first served. All patrons must wear masks. COVID protocols in place.)
Get Up, Stand Up: The Other Part of the Dream
January 26, 2022 | 7PM | University Student Commons
A performance and talkback honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
This performance hosted by the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs
(First-come, first served. All patrons must wear masks. COVID protocols in place.)
Learn about: The Conciliation Lab
For the first time, this year's Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration at VCU has been structured around a new original theater piece devised for the event by Richmond's social justice theater company, The Conciliation Lab.
The mission of The Conciliation Lab (or TCL) is to bring together the people and organizations that are willing and ready to engage in the difficult work of un-doing Racism in America and to pursue the on-going search for viable activities, methodologies, and practices to help facilitate the conciliation of individual people, communities, and organizations.
The Conciliation Labwas forged from twoseeminglyunlikely partners:TheatreLAB, a scrappy, innovative, and young theatre company focused on producing new and experimental works, andThe Conciliation Project, a long-standing, rooted, and loosely structured theatre company focused on the process of undoing racism. The company is charting a new course towardracial conciliation, tightly weaving a base of support for future generations. It focuses onbirthing new approachestoward conciliation from the past legacy of racial divisioncollectively inheritedover centuries of pain and strife.While that historical legacy can feel daunting to address, TCL has committed to helping our community persevere and thrive through the power of story, healing, and education.
