3 Ways To Celebrate MLK Day around DFW in 2025
Most people welcome Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a chance to enjoy a day off from school or work. But looking closer, why do we observe a national holiday for just one person? And how we can celebrate the day in meaningful ways, right here in DFW?
Why We Celebrate MLK Day
Since 1983, MLK Day has honored the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential and inspiring civil rights leaders in our nation’s history. It’s celebrated on the third Monday of January, which falls close to MLK’s birthday on the calendar.
Dr. King was a minister and activist who worked tirelessly for civil rights during a turbulent era. Drawing on his faith, Dr. King organized peaceful protest rallies and delivered inspirational speeches around the country. He endured threats and even imprisonment. Even still, he continued to work for justice and equality through non-violent, direct means.
Dr. King’s speeches and writings reveal how deeply his faith informed his actions and his belief in the redemptive power of suffering. His iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered at the March on Washington in 1963, remains one of the most powerful speeches in American history. Its soaring vision still impacts people today, calling us all to move forward toward the promise of racial equality, healing, and unity.
We observe MLK Day to remember the life, contributions, and legacy of this great leader.
How We Can Celebrate MLK Day
Here are three ways you can celebrate Dr. King's life and legacy right here in DFW:
1. Participate in Local Events
The City of Frisco is celebrating
Frisco Unity Day to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King on Saturday, January 18 from 10 AM–12 PM at the Purefoy Municipal Center.
The Collin County NAACP sponsors its annual
MLK Day Parade beginning in the historic Douglass Community on Monday, January 20.
2. Serve the Community
Beginning in 1994, Congress designated MLK Day as the only federal holiday to be a national day of service, led by the
Corporation for National and Community Service. It is a day intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and create solutions to social problems, bringing us a step closer to Dr. King’s vision of an equal and free society.
Even if you can't participate in an organized project, think of a way you can make a difference in your own neighborhood. It can be as simple as greeting a new neighbor to show them love and acceptance, or collecting donations such as toiletry items and clothing for a local refugee center.
3. Learn with Your Family
Another great way to celebrate MLK Day is to teach your family about the value of diversity and different cultures. For example, read or listen to a speech or letter by Dr. King, such as his
“I Have a Dream” speech or his "
Letter From Birmingham Jail." After listening or reading, talk with your children about the experience and what it means for us today.
Engage and inform young children about Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement with picture books. For an excellent list of children's books you can read and discuss together as a family, look
here.
Different cultures find expression in many forms: food, music, and more. You can listen to music from another culture, or plan a family dinner where you and your family cook dishes from a different culture together. Vote on the dish your family likes the best, and learn more about the culture from which the dish comes!
Even if your family cannot serve in the community together, you can celebrate MLK Day by making a list of community issues such as homelessness, poverty, or broken families. Pick an issue and prayerfully create a plan for how your family can be a part of finding a solution. This will be a great way to help children become more aware of the world in which they live, as well as identify and solve problems where they are.
However you decide to celebrate MLK Day, there are great reasons why we honor Dr. King’s vision and message of love, hope, peace, and equality for all people. His call to learn about different cultures, heritages, and backgrounds—and to better our communities—still resonates today. As we remember the life and legacy of this great leader, we can make it a “day on, not a day off.”