Perry County Honors MLK Day Emphasizing Education, Celebrating African-American Educators

Community members in Perry County gather Monday to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., centering this year’s observance on education and the contributions of African-American educators. The Southeast Kentucky African American Museum and Cultural Center hosts the event under the theme "Mission Possible: Building Community, Uniting a Nation, The Non-Violent Way."

The day begins with a community breakfast and program at First Presbyterian Church in Hazard where organizers memorialize past African-American teachers and publicly recognize current African-American teachers working in local schools. Emily Hudson, executive director of the Southeast Kentucky African American Museum and Cultural Center, says the recognition is meant to preserve local memory and civic lessons. “We’ll have memorialization of our past African-American teachers and shout out to the current African-American teachers in the school systems,” Hudson says. “It’s important to do lest we forget. The people that came before us, those who came before us and who really fought that fight.”

This year’s keynote speaker is Christopher Campbell with the Boys and Girls Club of Hazard and Perry County. Campbell frames education as central to King’s approach to change and links information to civic power. “One of his greatest tools during his speeches was the fact that he gave information,” Campbell says. “Education was a huge part of his ideology, and I think that if we inform ourselves, we can be small people to make a big change.”

After the breakfast, attendees assemble at Hazard City Hall for a march through downtown, echoing the nonviolent protests King led more than six decades ago. Organizers hope the procession and programming leave residents motivated to keep learning, to engage more deeply with local civic life, and to carry forward King’s message at a time when the nation marks its 250th anniversary.

An afternoon panel at Consolidated Baptist Church expands the conversation to national context, focusing on America’s 250th anniversary and the unfinished dream of Martin Luther King Jr. For a county where education and community institutions shape economic opportunity, that discussion underscores a practical link between civic memory and long-term local development. Investment in schools and youth programs builds human capital, strengthens the local workforce, and helps Perry County compete for future jobs and investment.

For residents, the day is both a remembrance and a call to action: to support African-American educators who have shaped generations, to back organizations that mentor young people, and to keep nonviolent civic engagement alive in downtown Hazard and beyond. The celebration offers tangible next steps for community involvement and a reminder that preserving history is part of building a more inclusive economic and civic future for Perry County.