What to Read, Watch, and Do for MLK Day 2024
Compiled by Sarah Sweeney
Endicott College may be closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 15, King’s birthday), but the day is a call to action—not a time for complacency.
“As a college campus community, it is important that we take the time to reflect on the contributions that Dr. King made and the work that still needs to be done to realize his vision of a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” noted Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Brandi Johnson.
Below, we’ve rounded up a list of activities—all local to Beverly, Salem, and Boston—to reflect on King’s work and spoke with faculty for their recommendations on other ways to commemorate his legacy.
Educate—and entertain—yourself
News at the Nest reached out to Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Matelski for recommendations for books and films that would speak to King’s life and his legacy. As usual, Matelski did not disappoint. Here she is in her own words:
“Jonathan Eig’s new biography of Dr. King—King: A Life—is the first major MLK biography in decades. It’s also being called one of the best books of 2023. Eig’s use of recently declassified FBI files results in a more fully realized version of King, one not often seen when we condense his life and legacy into carefully crafted quotes about nonviolence, hope, and peace.”
“Bigger Than Bravery: Black Resilience and Reclamation in a Time of Pandemic is a must-read collection of poems and essays that speaks to our current moment. The anthology brings together the voices of 31 Black writers, including Imani Perry and Kiese Laymon, who have spoken at Endicott in recent years as part of the Tadler Center for the Humanities speaker series.”
Get the books from Halle Library, the Endicott Bookstore, or alumni-owned Copper Dog Books in downtown Beverly.
“Netflix’s biopic, Rustin, is the long overdue story of Bayard Rustin, one of Dr. King’s closest advisors and a key architect of the 1963 March on Washington. As an openly queer Black man, Rustin was forced to take a backseat during the civil rights movement and was subsequently lost in the long shadow of Dr. King himself. The film isn’t perfect, but the timing is as we seek to add new voices of those whose stories have contributed to our American history.”
Explore local museums and Black history in Boston
“Several Boston museums are free and have event programming on MLK day, and close by, the Peabody Essex Museum,” noted Anna Suranyi, Professor of History.
This year, Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) will offer free admission all day (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), with a celebration of the legacy and leadership of King. Visitors can explore Bethany Collins’ America: A Hymnal exhibit, the writings of Sarah Parker Remond in the Let None Be Excluded: The Origins of Equal School Rights in Salem exhibit, and more throughout the day.
Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts will also offer free admission on MLK Day, including to their exhibit Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party. For more than five decades photojournalist Stephen Shames has used his work to call attention to a wide range of social issues—from the rights of children to poverty, race, and climate change. In 1965, while still a student at the University of California, Berkeley, Shames became the official photographer of the Black Panther Party at the invitation of party co-founder Bobby Seale.
Shames’s photos reframe the male-dominated reputation of the Black Panthers, making it clear that the party’s unsung women were at the heart of the collective movement—and ensuring the lasting legacy of the comrade sisters in the process.
If you do head into Boston to check out some museums, be sure to visit The Embrace, the year-old massive bronze sculpture in Boston Common that commemorates King’s life and legacy in Boston. You can also stroll the 1.6-mile Black Heritage Trail and visit the Museum of African American History, both in nearby Beacon Hill.
Serve your community through volunteering
Did you know that MLK Day is the only federal holiday that’s a national day of service? Interested volunteers can visit AmeriCorps Volunteer Search to find an opportunity nearby—or, interested Gulls can volunteer anytime by contacting the Office of Community Service.