The Kona Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee on Saturday commemorated 41 years of honoring his legacy.
Co-founders Virginia Halliday and Mamie Bramlett started celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with friends in 1981 at the Old Kona Airport Park in with a handful of participants. Over the decades, the gathering has grown into a community tradition attracting hundreds of people to honor the civil rights icon’s legacy. The last two years, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the festive gathering has been canceled.
While gathering is off the table, participants continue to find ways to celebrate King’s life. On Saturday, residents took the intersection of Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Palani Road in Kailua-Kona for a sign waving event to raise remind the community of King’s enduring contributions.
The committee has also created a video to mark the 41st anniversary of the communtiy event that is being broadcast on Na Leo TV this week. Airings are slated at 1 and 6 p.m. today on channels 53 and 54; at 8:30 a.m. on channel 53 on Tuesday; at 2 p.m. on channel 53 on Wednesday; at 12:30 p.m. on channel 53 on Thursday; and at 8:30 a.m. on channel 53 on Friday.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a federal holiday in 1983. The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday each January in honor of King’s birthday on Jan. 15, 1929. The day is set aside to honor King’s life and legacy. Many celebrate the holiday by volunteering and participating in acts of service.