MLK Beloved Community Celebration

January 15, 2026
6 – 8 p.m.
Pierce College Fort Steilacoom

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MLK Day Video

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Prior Celebrations

Poem by Alicia Nyonjo

The City of Lakewood will be honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday January 15^th with a Beloved Community Celebration to include a series of events at Pierce College. According to Sally Martinez, Recreation Coordinator for the City of Lakewood, “The idea of this year’s event is to ensure there is something for everyone.”

The evening events from 6-8 pm will feature dynamic performances, hands-on workshops, and a keynote address by Dr. John Scott. There will be family-friendly activities including free face painting, balloon making, dream board creation, and a collaborative community quilt project. Attendees can explore a student art show, library book display, and screenings of civil rights videos, then stay for complimentary dinner.

“All the corresponding activities and performances at the Beloved Community Celebration tie back directly to the six impacts of Martin Luther King,” said Martinez. These six impacts are Civil Rights & Social Rights, Promoting Traits of a Beloved Community, Community Service & Love of Family, Embracing Diversity, Freedom of Voice and Equal/Accessible Education. From Japanese drumming to spoken word artistry and an art show, the celebration will be filled with ways for attendees to honor MLK’s visions for a Beloved Community.

The evening will also feature a powerful performance of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf from 7:30-9:30. This play has strong themes and is recommended for audiences 15 years or older. Seats are limited for this play so please reserve your FREE tickets now: https://qrco.de/bgQ0to

As mentioned, Dr. King’s vision included community service. So, to celebrate this belief, you are encouraged to bring a canned food donation to benefit Nourish Pierce County. Your donation shows support of our community and connects you with neighbors as it honors Dr. King’s legacy of unity, compassion and service.

When The Bag Breaks, by Alicia Nyonjo

Paper bags are what we use to hold our lives
From groceries, to lunches, to passing tests
Paper bags are how some survived

Surviving in a place not built for them
To suppress them, and their brethren
To be both a victor and a victim

They say, “You have too much, she has too little”, but in reality, we never had enough
Things should be changed, yes, many have
but what should I tell the young who never learned about the unsung?
About how far we’ve fought to scrape by
Above all the prejudice we had to climb high
just to see a glimpse of the better tomorrow
Knowing that they were ghosts and whips changing the score

Paper bags I’d owe it all to you
You kept my food warm, but kept me out too
My shade put me in the shadows, and now you have your cake and can eat it too.
Eating, they say.
I want to be at the table, not on the menu
I want to order the meal that will heal.
That we cannot survive on scraps

In the Riots of Watts, and Marches from Selma to Montogomery
On the many Bloody Sundays, where blackberries hung on trees
We fought for our dishes to be put on the menu
We fought for our seat at the table
And we fought to rebuild it
Together.

And yet, they hand us doggie bags,
With only bones and peels to support ourselves

We all want to dine at the ‘American Dream: Dine with Democracy’
To not dine with the bullet in the ballot

But to share with one another
To build
To take home doggie bags not of scraps, but of ideas, of hope, of resolution

The paper bag, I take it out
I won’t pass the test, I know
But when the dregs fall to the ground, and splatters all around at my feet
I hope, I pray an unfamiliar hand will help me up
Paper bags could unite us all
At lunch we unpack and share
a small, simple act of care.

Paper bags could hold so much
Bottles, guns, sticky notes of love
Paper bags can let some in and shut others out

But they are flimsy, and fickle things,
They dissolve away in waterfalls of tears
Ever overflowing from laugher and rain
And sadly yes, even of pain

Every voice
Ones that whisper, cheer, and cry
Will be lifted higher than the glistening sky
Will travel farther than the rolling seas
And will be heard
From you, to he
From her, she
We will let them be heard

We will invite them to the tables
we will welcome every voice
And when they leave, they won’t have paper bags
But rather we’ll be satiated; Satisfied
Someway
Sometime
Somewhere
Someplace

Our sound will surround
Everyone will surround, and all will hear
Everyone will now hear the sound of the rustle of the paper bags
As we tear them apart, and build something new
and together
We will rise.

Majority, Minority City

2020 census data revealed that Lakewood is one of the few cities in our state where our Black, Indigenous and people of color comprise over 50% of the total population. Diversity and vibrant cultural heritage are defining assets of Lakewood. Our city is a mix of languages, art, dance, culture, history, heritage, visions, and values.

The City’s MLK, Jr. Day videos celebrate that shared heritage. They gather visions and performances from the community in testimony to the value of equality and community.

2024 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Video Series

The City of Lakewood MLK Committee commissioned three videos for its annual recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2024. The theme explores how Lakewood youth relate to the teachings and work of King. Students were asked to reflect on this famous King quote:

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But no matter what, you have to keep moving forward.”

All Lakewood residents are encouraged to watch the videos. The first aired Jan. 15, 2024 to kick-off the city’s recognition of the holiday. The second video aired Jan. 22, 2024. You can watch them below.