by Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

January 16, 2026

Legislators, religious leaders and community members gathered at Georgia’s state Capitol in Atlanta Friday to commemorate civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. the day after what would have been his 97th birthday. 

The ceremony, held amid a nationwide backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and growing calls for increased affordability, highlighted King’s efforts to fight for racial equality and economic justice.

In this year’s keynote address, John Hope Bryant, the founder, CEO and chair of Operation HOPE, highlighted King’s efforts to expand economic empowerment, calling him the “embodiment” of what it means to have financial freedom.

King’s family was able to send him to the historically BlackMorehouse College in Atlanta when he was 15 years old in the 1940s. He would go on to earn advanced degrees.  

“That took economic freedom. That took the ability to have a voice,” Bryant said. 

Bryant also called on lawmakers, advocates and everyday Georgians to work toward improving financial literacy, calling it “the civil rights issue of this generation.”

“What good is it to get the lunch counter access if you can’t pay the bill for the burger?” he said.

The ceremony was also attended by some of King’s surviving family members, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and other elected officials.

Government facilities across the state will be closed Monday in observance of King’s birthday, celebrated every third Monday in January. In 1968, King was slain at the age of 39 after becoming the face of the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement fighting the systemic racism Black people endured across the deep South and other parts of America.

But this year, the celebration for some might look slightly different: visitors to national parks across the nation will no longer be granted free access on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday after the U.S. Department of the Interior removed the holiday from the calendar of fee-free days. Free access to national parks was also revoked on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the official end of slavery in America.

Trump has also recently made comments to the New York Times criticizing the Civil Rights Movement, claiming that it led to white people being “very badly treated.”

But in Georgia, where King was born and lived for much of his life, representatives from both sides of the aisle were united in commemorating his birthday. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp celebrated King’s advocacy and legacy of nonviolence in his remarks to the crowd Friday.

“It goes without saying that one of the towering figures of America’s rich history is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Kemp said. “He did as much — if not more than anyone — to ensure we work toward fulfilling those founding principles that inspired the very birth of the United States: liberty, truth and justice for all.”

Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Grayson Democrat and chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, urged attendees to continue fighting for King’s message of equality.

“Dr. King envisioned a world where children of all backgrounds could join hands as equals, and that vision is not a relic of the past,” Merritt said. “It is a living challenge to each of us every day.”

MLK Day celebrations across metro Atlanta will continue throughout the weekend, with a commemorative service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King once served as a pastor, as well as a parade, a 5K race, and numerous community service events.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.