Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy through art, music, and dialogue in Reading
(6-7 minute read)
Despite overnight snow, the Reading community gathered on Monday, January 19, 2026, at the Reading Memorial High School Performing Arts Center for the Town’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Program - a morning dedicated to remembrance, learning, and collective responsibility.
The event was sponsored by the Office of Equity and Social Justice (OESJ) and the Town of Reading, with Students of Color and Allies for Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (SOCA4EJI) serving as hosts. Thanks to early-morning work by the Reading Department of Public Works, roads, sidewalks, and parking lots were cleared in time for the program to proceed safely.
Community organizations and student art set the tone
A morning breakfast is served to attendees before the start of Reading’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at RMHS. Photo by Taylor Gregory.
Before the formal program began, hallways outside the Performing Arts Center were lined with tables hosted by community organizations and student groups, creating a welcoming space for conversation and connection while enjoying the breakfast provided. Participating organizations included:
A district-wide student art project featuring work from students at Barrows, Wood End, Killam, Birch Meadow, and Joshua Eaton schools
The Ad-Hoc Commemoration Establishment (ACE) Committee
OESJ and the Reading Public Library
The North Reading Human Rights Coalition, promoting an upcoming book club discussion of Disability Visibility by Alice Wong at the North Reading Flint Memorial Library on February 11, 2026
METCO and Friends of Reading METCO
Reading Public Schools Multilingual Learners
The Reading Lions Club, which hosted a five-question quiz on Dr. King’s life and a “Tree of Peace,” invited attendees to answer the question: “How do you show love to Reading?”
District-wide art project highlights Dr. King’s words
A centerpiece of the morning was the district-wide art initiative in which each grade level illustrated a specific quote from Dr. King after learning about his life and message:
Kindergarten: “Everyone can be great.”
Grade 1: “Love is the key to the problems of the world.”
Grade 2: “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”
Grades 3 & 4: “Sooner or later, all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together.”
Grade 5: “I have a dream that one day in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
The collection reflected not only artistic creativity but thoughtful engagement with Dr. King’s enduring message of justice, unity, and compassion.
Program opens with welcome, reflection, and music
Community members fill the RMHS PAC during Reading’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day program, coming together for a morning of reflection, music, and shared commitment to Dr. King’s legacy. Photo by Taylor Gregory.
The program began shortly after 10:00 am with SOCA students Alana Doroquez and Andrea Hall serving as emcees. Albert Pless, Director of Equity and Social Justice, welcomed attendees and provided updates on the office’s work, emphasizing that equity efforts do not happen in a vacuum and thanking all those involved in planning the day.
Pless also acknowledged the support of Amy Lannon, Director of the Reading Public Library; Dr. Thomas Milaschewski, Superintendent of Reading Public Schools; and members of the Select Board and School Committee.
Doroquez and Hall then delivered a Land Acknowledgement, followed by an invocation from the Reading Clergy Association, with remarks by Rev. Mary Curlew of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and Rev. Emelia Attridge of First Congregational Church.
Musical performances followed, including:
RMHS junior Adam Hogan performed If I Can Dream, made famous by Elvis Presley
The RMHS Mixed Choir sang Lift Every Voice and Sing, often referred to as the Black National Anthem
The Ipswich River Community Chorus, performing We Resist
History, commitments, and a vision for the future
RMHS junior Adam Hogan performs If I Can Dream during Reading’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at the RMHS PAC. Photo by Taylor Gregory.
SOCA students presented a video compilation featuring excerpts from A Raisin in the Sun, highlighting the experiences of a Black family in Chicago and reinforcing the themes of housing, opportunity, and dignity.
Select Board member Karen Herrick read the Town’s Human Rights Resolution, adopted in December 2025, reaffirming Reading’s commitment to protecting and uplifting vulnerable communities.
ACE Committee Chair Taylor Gregory spoke briefly about the Committee’s work to honor Bill Russell and invited residents to attend the first session of the Game Changers Series, which focused on Russell’s first memoir, Go Up For Glory.
Keynote address by Dr. Robert Bellinger
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Robert Bellinger, an independent public historian and founder of Righting Histories. Dr. Bellinger holds a B.A. in Psychology and Black Studies from Amherst College, an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in History from Boston College.
He is currently completing a manuscript on Black residents of Lexington, Massachusetts, from 1690-1820, in collaboration with the Lexington History Museums, and serves on the boards of the Robbins House, the Shirley-Eustis House, Rediscover Mapledale, and Middleton Place.
Voices of the community and a shared closing
In one of the program’s most powerful moments, audience members rose to read excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches, including:
“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
The program concluded with the quote “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last,” read aloud in multiple languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Shone, and Albanian, before the entire audience joined together in English.
The RMHS Mixed Choir performs Lift Every Voice and Sing during Reading’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at the RMHS PAC. Photo by Taylor Gregory.
Final remarks from Albert Pless were followed by a closing musical performance of This Little Light of Mine by the RMHS Mixed Choir and the Ipswich River Community Chorus.
Continuing the conversation
Following the official program, Dr. Bellinger remained on stage for a fireside chat with Albert Pless, answering questions and continuing conversations about equity, history, and social justice.
The morning served as both a tribute to Dr. King’s legacy and a reminder that the work of building a more just and inclusive community continues - together.
