MLK Day Celebration (January 2025)
Event Overview
An indoor celebration at Keith James Auditorium featuring keynote speaker Yvette Carnell and a town hall discussion asking: “Where Do We Grow From Here?”
Event Details
- Date: January 2025 (specific date in January)
- Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Location: Keith James Auditorium, 3633 Main St, College Park
- Keynote Speaker: Yvette Carnell, President of ADOSAF
- Collaborating Organizations: College Park Citizens Association, City of College Park, ADOS GA State Chapter, UAFAH
- Format: Keynote, guest speakers, food, entertainment, town hall discussion
- Cost: Free and open to all
What Happened
Due to weather, the outdoor MLK Day celebration moved indoors to Keith James Auditorium, but the conversation’s urgency remained unchanged. This was not another commemorative event recycling familiar quotes. This was a forward-looking conversation: “Where Do We Grow From Here?”
Yvette Carnell, President of ADOSAF (American Descendants of Slavery Advocacy Foundation), delivered the keynote address challenging attendees to move beyond nostalgia for Dr. King’s era and into action for the present moment.
Guest speakers from various community organizations shared perspectives on what Dr. King’s legacy demands of us today. The town hall format ensured resident voices shaped the conversation – not just leaders speaking at the community, but the community speaking for itself.
Food and entertainment created a celebratory atmosphere while the content remained substantive and challenging.
The Central Question
“Where Do We Grow From Here?”
This question reframes MLK Day from backward-looking commemoration to forward-looking activation. Dr. King’s legacy is not about what was done in the past. It is about what must be done now. UAFAH participated in this conversation by demonstrating that Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech can move from rhetoric to reality through the Model City Initiative, Love and Reverence practices, and the Community Pledge.
UAFAH’s Role
United Action for the Advancement of Humanity joined as a collaborating partner, demonstrating how the Model City Initiative provides a concrete answer to “Where do we grow from here?” The answer: We grow by transcending racial constructs. By recognizing one race. By judging by human attributes. By practicing Love and Reverence daily. By building the Beloved Community ward by ward.
Impact
- Connected Dr. King’s historical vision to present-day actionable framework
- Brought together diverse community organizations in collaborative programming
- Provided platform for resident voices through town hall format
- Positioned UAFAH’s work as continuation of Dr. King’s unfinished mission
Connection to Mission
Dr. King’s legacy is not a museum piece. It is a living mandate. The MLK Day celebration asked where we grow from here. The Model City Initiative provides the answer: we grow by doing the work Dr. King called us to do – building the Beloved Community through deliberate, structured, measurable transformation.