How to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in New Jersey in 2026

Martin Luther King Jr. Read-In and Luncheon with Atlantic City Library

Date: Jan. 17
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: The Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University, 2200 Fairmount Ave., Atlantic City

Find more information here. Register here.

Music and Poetry with Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Committee of Bergen County

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Temple Emeth, 1666 Windsor Rd., Teaneck

Find more information here.

Martin Luther King Jr.: 1968-2026 Oral History Project with Eloquence Academy, Inc.

Date: Jan. 19-20
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Tenafly Library, 100 Riveredge Rd., Tenafly

Documentary Screening of “The Price of Silence” and Talkback with Fair Lawn Main Street Inc.

Date: Feb. 18
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Fair Lawn Community Center Theater, 10-10 20th St., Fair Lawn

Find more information here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service with Burlington County 4-H Leaders Council Inc.

Date: Jan. 17
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County, 2 Academy Dr., Westampton

Find more information here. Register here.

Youth-Led Panel and Workshops with Evesham Township

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: The Gibson House, 535 E. Main St., Marlton

Find more information here. Register here.

Commemorative Program with Lawnside Borough and Lawnside Public Schools

Date: Feb. 7
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Wayne Bryant Community Center, 323 E. Charleston Ave., Lawnside

Bridgeton City Cleanup with American Littoral Society

Date: Jan. 17
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Alms Center, 1 M.L.K. Jr Wy., Bridgeton

Find more information here.

Winter Coat Drive for Latino Families

Date: Jan. 14
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: East Ward Community Center, 273 Oliver Street, Newark

Celebration with La Casa de Don Pedro

Date: Jan. 15
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Family Success Center I, 23 Broadway, Newark

Find more information here.

Belleville Township Flag-Raising Ceremony

Date: Jan. 16
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Belleville Town Hall, 152 Washington Ave., Belleville

Find more information here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Competition with Orange and Newark public schools students

Date: Jan. 17
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: NJIT Agile Strategy Lab, 355 Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark

Find more information here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium and Workshop

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Location: Seton Hall University Bethany Hall, Room A, 400 S. Orange Ave., South Orange

Find more information here. Register here.

Martin Luther King Jr. March of Resistance with People’s Organization for Progress

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Martin Luther King Statue, 495 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark

Find more information here.

Community Roundtable Discussion with Congregational Baptist Church

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Congregational Baptist Church, 399-417 Bergen St., Newark

Celebration with Newark Museum of Art

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Newark Museum of Art, 49 Washington St., Newark

Find more information here. Register here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Luminaries with Meadowland Park Conservancy and South Orange-Maplewood Community Coalition on Race

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Meadowland Park, 5 Mead St., South Orange

Attendees are encouraged to bring canned food for donation to a local food pantry. 

Find more information here.

Statewide Assembly of Freedom and Democracy through Art with Friends of the Howe House and T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center

Date: Feb. 7
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: Montclair Library, 50 South Fullerton Ave., Montclair

Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Day of Service with Mercer Street Friends

Date: Jan. 19
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, 3 Graphics Dr., Ewing

Nonviolence Workshop with Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice

Date: Jan. 25
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, 12 Stockton St., Princeton

Community Dialogue with Greater Mt. Zion CDC

Date: Feb. 7
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Greater Mount Zion AME Church, 42 Pennington Ave., Trenton

Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with The Manchester School District Gospel Chorus

Date: Jan. 16
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Manchester Township High School, 101 Hawks Wy., Manchester

Find more information here.