Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Where to celebrate his legacy in LA in 2026

LOS ANGELES - Monday marked the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday with numerous parades, musical and cultural events and volunteer opportunities throughout Southern California.

What we know:

Monday's biggest Southland event for the occasion took place in South Los Angeles, where the annual MLK Day parade is under new leadership — Bakewell Media, publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper.

Bakewell took over the event — formerly called the Kingdom Day Parade — and rebranded it as the "Los Angeles Official Martin Luther King Day Parade" after the previous organizers, Adrian Dove and the L.A. chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality California, decided to retire from producing the event.

The parade, which annually draws thousands of spectators, began at 10 a.m. Monday at Western Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard, ending at Leimert Park.

Following the parade, L.A. City Council members Marqueece Harris- Dawson, Curren Price and Heather Hutt hosted the MLK Freedom Festival in the historic Leimert Park Village. The festival will feature music performances from the likes of the Grammy award-winning Avila Brothers, along with a community resource fair, local vendors, food trucks and more.

Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, and state Sen. Lola Smallwood- Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, are among those scheduled to attend the event.

The Freedom Festival featured the South Los Angeles Community Coalition's "The Barbershop," which aims to replicate the safe spaces that barbershops and nail salons have represented in the Black community for generations.

The setup was used as a forum to discuss MLK's call for justice, dignity and collective action. Topics included community safety, housing, economic justice and the power of people-led solutions. The coalition also launched community poll to identify key issues felt by South LA residents.

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Also Monday, the annual MLK Day Volunteer Festival was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, run by the nonprofit L.A. Works. It's billed as "the largest activation of service event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at a moment when the city's need for collective action has never been greater."

The event focused on qildfire recovery and uplifting displaced families, and standing with immigrant communities, organizers said. It also featured volunteer projects, educational activities, a nonprofit fair and BIPOC small-business zone, and a live DJ.

Meanwhile, the volunteer organization Big Sunday conducted its 14th annual MLK Day Clothing Drive & Community Breakfast at South Park Elementary School, located at 8510 Towne Ave.

Big Sunday aims to collect non-perishable food and clothes for a new, year-round food pantry. In addition to the food and clothes drive, the nonprofit organized gardening and other school beautification projects, arts and crafts activities and a special MLK Day mosaic project.

Other events

See a list of other ways to celebrate Dr. King's legacy below.

Exposition Park

The California African American Museum, at 600 State Drive, will host a King Day program from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that will include a community service book donation drive supporting the Little Free Library at the Crenshaw Family YMCA; a faux stained glass workshop; a King study group; and concluding with a performance by the Inner City Youth Orchestra of L.A.

Santa Clarita

A "Unity Walk" will take place at 9 a.m. at Central Park, 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road. Mayor Laurene Weste will provide remarks near a public art installation called "When Cloud Met a Cloud," located toward the park's exercise staircase.

Santa Monica

 The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition's 41th annual holiday celebration will take place with the theme "Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere." The keynote speaker will be Emmy award-winning producer and reporter Bonnie Boswell, executive producer for Bonnie Boswell Reports on PBS. The celebration will begin at 9 a.m. at John Adams Middle School's Performing Arts Center, 2425 16th St.

Cerritos

An MLK Day ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive. The ceremony will feature remarks by members of the Cerritos City Council, plus guest speakers, a poetry presentation and musical performances.

Long Beach

The Queen Mary will commemorate MLK Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a student speech-writing contest, a lecture series and a screening of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. The Queen Mary is docked at 1126 Queens Highway.

Downtown LA

At 3 p.m., Archbishop José H. Gómez will celebrate a Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels to honor the life of MLK. The cathedral is located at 555 W. Temple St., and the Mass will also be livestreamed online.

Irvine

The Pretend City Children's Museum will celebrate the legacy of King "with special activities and thoughtful discussions." The event, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m., will "honor and celebrate Black leaders, artists, and innovators throughout the day." The museum is located at 29 Hubble.

Santa Ana

Reconcile Church Collective will hold an Orange County MLK Breakfast at 8 a.m. The church is located at 1010 W. 17th St.

Riverside

The Civil Rights Institute will host a celebration that kids can participate in beginning at 11 a.m. 

San Bernardino

San Bernardino will host its 6th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade & Extravaganza. The parade starts at noon on 4th street and will end at 4 p.m. at the YouthBuild Inland Empire. 

The backstory:

MLK Day, observed on the third Monday of January, began in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed a bill making MLK Day a day of service. King's actual birthday was Jan. 15, 1929. 

Monday marks the 97th anniversary of his birth. He was shot and killed by an assassin on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39.

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