Martin Luther King March & Celebration
Loudoun County Courthouse
January 16, 2023
Time: 10 am
Families, friends, and community organizations from Loudoun County and all over the world are invited to come together virtually and in person on Monday, January 16, 2023 for the annual celebration honoring the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s march will take place in person at 10 a.m. on the Loudoun County Courthouse lawn in Leesburg. The celebration and program will take place via a live streamed event and can be viewed on YouTube @MLKMarchLeesburg starting at 12 p.m. on January 16.
The theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Uncensored History: Embracing the Past, Educating the Present, Impacting the Future.’ This year marks the 32nd Anniversary of the march and celebration, one of the largest and oldest in the region. This historic celebration is now under the leadership of the newly formed MLK Diversity-Engagement Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit.
Noteworthy in Loudoun County history, Douglass High School (where the symbolic March typically ends, and the celebration’s program would take place in years past) was the last segregated high school in Loudoun County until it was closed in 1968 as a result of desegregation. This year’s March will pass by Douglass High School and end at Frederick Douglass Elementary School (510 Principal Drummond Way SE) for the second time in the program’s history due to construction at Douglass High School (now Douglass Community Center).
Parking is available for attendees at the Loudoun County Parking Garage (146 Loudoun St SW), the Town Hall Parking Garage (10 Loudoun St SW. A shuttle will be available, starting at 9:45a.m., from Frederick Douglass Elementary to the Loudoun County Courthouse for attendees with limited mobility and committee members. Space on the
shuttle will be limited. Shuttle will be located at the Frederick Douglass to return marchers to parking garage at the end of the march.
This year’s live streamed program will include music and dance performances, a children’s corner, youth panel discussion, highlighted by featured speakers.
The 2022 featured speakers are Robin Hamilton and Janet Ford. Robin Hamilton is an Emmy-award winning television host, producer and moderator for town halls and forums. She is founder and principal of the A Round Robin Production Company, where she creates videos for non-profits to help with fundraising, marketing and messaging. Hamilton’s company has produced three documentary films. This Little Light of Mine: The Legacy of Fannie Lou, Dignity and Defiance: A Portrait of Mary Church Terrell, and Our Alexandria. Robin Hamilton has received two master’s degrees, one from New York University, with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and a second in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, with a focus on public policy and media.
Janet Ford is the President of the Northern Virginia Business and Professional Women’s Club that was chartered with 42 active members in September 2017. The club is a chapter of The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, Incorporated (NANBPWC, Inc.) in the Mid-Atlantic District. The NOVA BPW Club aims to promote the mission and great work of the trailblazers before them by fostering and building fruitful relationships with the surrounding community, organizations, and businesses in the Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William County areas. Ford is the CEO of Leadership with Purpose and Passion (LWPAP), LLC. With over 30 years of experience in leading and directing diverse and highly skilled workforces, she has helped both government and non-government organizations improve performance, productivity, and profit by addressing the “people issue” in the workplace.
The historic founding sponsors of the I “Have A Dream” Committee include the Baha’i Community of Loudoun, Bluemont Concert Series, Douglass Alumni Association, and the NAACP Loudoun Branch. Individuals, families, schools, businesses, civic, and religious organizations are all welcome to participate both in person and virtually in this year’s March and Celebration.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/MLKMarchLeesburg/
https://www.youtube.com/@mlkmarchleesburg282
MLK “I Have A Dream” Celebration and March
P.O. Box 1147 Leesburg, VA 20177
themarch@mlkleesburg.org
facebook.com/MLKMarchLeesburg
twitter.com/MLKMarch
YouTube @MLKMarchLeesburg