MLK Day is this upcoming Monday. Here’s what’s going on in Shasta County
The Shasta Beloved Community and community partners are holding a celebration for the holiday at Sequoia Middle School.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is this upcoming Monday, and a local organization is holding an event to celebrate the federal holiday.
The Shasta Beloved Community — which describes itself as a grassroots movement that is “dedicated to networking and unifying relationships in our diverse community” — is collaborating with other community partners to put on the event honoring Dr. King’s legacy. The theme of this year’s annual celebration is, “Mission Possible: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way.”
“This theme is more than just a banner; it’s a blueprint for action,” reads a press release from The Shasta Beloved Community. “It guides our programming, fuels our outreach, and anchors our commitment to building the Beloved Community; a world where injustice ends, violence is replaced by compassion, and love becomes the prevailing force. It calls for reflection, education, and action toward creating positive change in our communities.”
The event will include a prayer circle and march, information booths, an MLK celebration bell-ringing ceremony, performances and lunch provided by the Asphalt Cowboys. The event is open to everyone, and it will be held rain or shine. It’s being organized in tandem with the City of Redding, SEIU 2015, Redding Recreation and other organizations.
The event starts at 10 a.m. on Jan. 19 at the Shasta County Superior Courthouse for a prayer circle and march to Sequoia Middle School, where the main event will be held. Transportation via shuttle from the middle school to the courthouse will be available at 9:20 a.m. The event ends at 2 p.m.
What is MLK Day, and why is it celebrated?
MLK Day became a national holiday in 1983, and it’s celebrated on the third Monday in January to honor the civil rights leader. It took years of advocacy by civil rights leaders and groups before the bill to designate the day as a federal holiday was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
The bill had faced opposition from lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but perseverance from King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, musician Stevie Wonder, Democratic Michigan Congressman John Conyers, the Congressional Black Caucus and other civil rights advocates pushed the bill to passage.
Even in the years after the bill’s passage to make MLK Day a federal holiday, it faced resistance from some states, including Arizona and South Carolina. Two states — Alabama and Mississippi — also honor Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on MLK Day.
In December 2025, the Trump administration removed MLK Day — along with Juneteenth — from the National Park Service’s calendar of entrance fee-free days and added the president’s birthday to the list of free entrance days. The move went into effect at the start of this year.
Not only does MLK Day honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but it is also the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, as it’s meant to encourage Americans to volunteer and make improvements to their communities.
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O I have no doubt if Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he would be fighting fearlessly for those of all colors laying out and sleeping on the freezing cold sidewalks, empty buildings, and under bushes of America. The City of Redding police violate the rights of the homeless constantly. We are against practices and laws that unfairly single out homeless people and criminalize them for everyday living and life-sustaining activities such as sleeping, or keeping warm, or sitting in the wrong place.
Christian? You should be as well… https://reddinghomeless.blogspot.com/2025/12/redding-homeless-blog-online-food-drive.html