The Town of West Hartford will hold its annual Martin Luther King Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 at Town Hall, and will also present the Earl Exum Servant Leader award.

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The community is invited to the 30th annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, at the West Hartford Town Hall auditorium, 50 South Main Street, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Each year, the event pays tribute to Dr. King’s ideals and vision and grows more popular and inspiring. The celebration is free and open to people of all ages.

West Hartford’s 2026 event centers on two key themes in Dr. King’s speeches. They are Audacity and Mutuality.

“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits” (7:30 mark) [View MLK’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize speech]

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” [Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963]

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Fiona Vernal, Associate Director of the Africana Studies Institute (ASI), Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies, and the Director of Engaged, Public, Oral, and Community Histories (EPOCH) at the University of Connecticut.

She has developed a modular exhibition framework for libraries, universities, community organizations, non-profits, and municipalities to leverage audiovisual storytelling and oral histories to communicate shared values, promote civic engagement, and educate the public about pressing historical and contemporary issues. In addition to collecting almost 1,200 new oral histories through a statewide license to an oral history platform, these projects have examined apartheid’s legacies; child labor and human rights; housing as a civil right and a human right; Hartford’s emergence as a Caribbean and African American city; and the history of Black civic organizing.

Her teaching and research center on African, Caribbean, and African Diaspora histories. She is currently working on a book and digital humanities project, Hartford Bound, that integrates oral histories, archival research, and GIS methodologies to offer new visual and spatial histories of race, ethnic belonging, migration, and community succession in Hartford, Connecticut.

The 2026 MLK celebration also includes a welcome from Mayor Shari Cantor and an invocation by Pastor Cloe D. Graham of Faith Congregational Church of Hartford. West Hartford Town Councilor Lisa Lazarus will serve as master of ceremonies.

Each year, two students from our public high schools are chosen to give their perspectives on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year, Rowan Thompson of Conard High School and Nybol Bona of Hall High School were selected.

The event features musical performances by the Hall High School Jazz Combo, King Philip Middle School’s KP Singers, and Conard High School’s Solo Choir.

Portia Wise Bachman, Vice President of West Hartford African American Social & Cultural Organization, one of the sponsoring organizations, will introduce the keynote speaker.

Student artwork, essays, and poems from West Hartford elementary schools will also be displayed. The event will kick off with a video capturing West Hartford Public Schools elementary students creating MLK art projects.

In addition to the program, the second Earl Exum Servant Leader Award will be announced. The MLK committee has selected Drs. Elena and Booker DeVaughn.

“Drs. Booker and Elena DeVaughn embody the spirit of service, education, and community that the Earl Exum Award seeks to honor. Together, the DeVaughns have enriched public understanding of African American history through research, presentations, and exhibits. They are generous in every way, from philanthropy to volunteerism with many non-profit organizations. They are sought-after leaders in the community, and we are lucky to have them,” said Mayor Shari Cantor.

Sponsors of this event include the West Hartford African American Social & Cultural Organization (WHAASCO), the Town of West Hartford, West Hartford Public Schools, and Concerned Parents of Color of West Hartford.  West Hartford Community Interactive will air the event live on Comcast Channel 5, Frontier 6098, and on their YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@whci.

Free parking is available in the Town Hall lot.

For more information, contact Renée McCue, Public Relations Specialist at the Town of West Hartford, at 860-561-7521 or [email protected].

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