Spirit of King’s ‘beloved community,’ passion for freedom at the heart of MLK Jr. Day event in its 25th year
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s notion of a “beloved community” and his passion for freedom — a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love and respect for one’s fellow human beings — will be celebrated in the 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event on Monday, Jan. 20, at Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship.
Karl Meyer, community outreach coordinator for Bellingham’s Community Food Co-op, said the event promises to lift the spirit of King’s legacy of inclusion with music by Checo Tohomaso. The Co-op has been hosting MLK Jr. events since 1998, and moved the venue to BUF in 2019.
Tohomaso played keyboards and percussion and provided backup vocals on Motown legend Marvin Gaye’s last European tour, and has performed with Lionel Richie and The Commodores, Celine Dion, New Kids On The Block and Reba McEntire, among others. He serves as the director of two British Columbia-based choirs — VOC Sweet Soul Gospel Choir in Vancouver and Victoria Sweet Soul Choir in Victoria.
Like King, he focuses on communicating the positive, using the healing qualities of soul music to reach as many people as possible.
Although the all-ages event officially begins at 7 p.m., Tohomaso invites the community to join him one hour earlier, to sing together songs like “Everyday People,” “Woke Up This Morning,” “Steal Away,” “Oh Happy Day,” “Love Train” and “A Change is Going to Come.”
Bellingham City Council Member Skip Williams will share “A Change is Going to Come” as part of the evening’s musical performance.
As part of the celebration honoring King and his concept of a beloved community, keynote speaker Sislena Grocer Ledbetter, associate vice president for counseling, health, and well-being at Western Washington University, will apply her research on fostering healthy relationships with the Black community in her presentation.
A social psychologist and educator, Ledbetter has led initiatives across higher education, securing millions in grants for peer-led health programs addressing critical issues such as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and domestic violence.
For more than nine years, she hosted “A Healthy Mind,” a television program dedicated to mental health awareness. As chair-elect of the U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network, Ledbetter advances cultures of well-being and equity in education on campuses nationwide. She’s the mother of three adult sons.
The event’s emcee, Lance Jones, has spent his career collaborating with people, organizations and governments around the globe to hone their voice, activate their constituencies and realize their visions.
“It was my privilege to sit on MLK Jr. 2024’s intergenerational panel, also convened at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, and led, in part, by the efforts of Karl Meyer and TeeJay Morris,” Jones said.
Since then, he was asked to serve as interim chief executive officer for Northwest Youth Services, an organization that has served Washington’s youth since 1976.
Jones’ life philosophy was shaped by growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.
“If our family ever went without,” he said “I never knew it.”
But, he added, “As a child, my mom and dad’s divorce fractured my understanding of home and family; as I grow older, perhaps wiser, I’m now struck by the consistent, almost stubborn excellence modeled by my parents as they persevered through challenging times, be their origins personal or systemic.
“They shattered so many of their own glass ceilings and did so with a nonchalance that empowered me to dream unboundedly.”
In the early 1900s, Lance’s great-grandfather slipped a lynch mob and escaped the Deep South. Almost a century later, Lance graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and dedicated four years fighting for the marginalized as a speechwriter, policy interpreter and communications strategist on Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill.
“It is only with the effort, collaboration, and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, and generations of freedom fighters that I and so many others can exist in the United States of America,” Jones said.
Today, Jones said, “they inspire me to run with the baton of hope, equity, and human rights until my generation completes our own race.”
Jones pointed out that both Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the U.S. presidential inauguration fall on Jan. 20 this year.
“There is a distinct contrast between the two men around which this day focuses,” Jones said.
“In every minute of every day, we all can choose how we show up for each other; our community deserves our best and this event will be a great tone-setter for the rest of 2025!
“No matter when, where, or however we are, our civil and human rights should never be taken for granted. It will forever be vital for those of us with power, or proximity to it, to truly see all human beings and advocate for their wellbeing.”
A freewill offering will be accepted to support BUF’s “Humanitas Ministry,” whose primary mission is to provide emergency financial assistance to people in need.
BUF is at 1207 Ellsworth Street in Bellingham.
— By Margaret Bikman