Wilmington, DE: This January 18th, two days before the historic inauguration of native son Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (who claims many firsts as the highest ranking Black, Indian, and female leader in the United States), Wilmington will honor and celebrate the legacy of one of the history’s most revered leaders and civil rights activists, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In honor of King’s life and legacy, West Side Grows Together is presenting the 9th Annual MLK Clean Up, Peace March & Celebration with the community-driven theme “Healing Through Unity”.

For those familiar with the event, this year the traditional in-person format is modified in light of COVID-19, but the event will go on in a hybrid format to ensure that King, the national day of service, and the cause will not be neglected. Thanks to the partnership of The Warehouse (a partner of the WRK Group), Guerrilla Repulik, 302 Guns Down, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Humanities, Delaware Nature Society, Be Ready CDC, Reeds Refuge Center, the City of Wilmington, Public Allies Delaware, and the Wilmington Peacekeepers, the event has been adapted as follows:

• 10 AM: Community clean up at The Warehouse

• 11AM: Community clean ups at 4th and Rodney Park and Hicks Anderson Center

• 2PM: Peace march starting at Hicks Anderson Center (1.3 mile loop, limited parking available)

• 3:30PM: Virtual celebration viewable on the West Side Grows Together and The Warehouse Facebook pages

Masks, social distancing, and registration are required for all in-person activities. Pre-registration at bit.ly/MLKPMC2021 is recommended though limited on-site registration will be available.

The biggest change this year comes in the now virtual post-march celebration, to be broadcast live by Reeds Refuge Center, viewable on the West Side Grows Together and The Warehouse Facebook pages. A who’s who of local acts will be performing and speaking, including keynote speaker and artist Richard Raw, Jea Street, Jr., Young Seda, Stephanie N. Sanford, Fred Reed of Reeds Refuge Center, Tariah Hyland, Christian Wills, Eugene Young, and The Warehouse dancers.

Paramount to the partners and community is to illuminate and live by the words of Dr. King and to operate in love, peace, and unity. To quote King himself, “We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization.”

This program is partially funded by a grant from the Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  This program was also partially funded with the generous support of the Delaware Art Museum.