MLK Jr. Day in Las Cruces: March in Dr. King's honor

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday of January each year. Here are the events Las Crucens can expect to celebrate the federal holiday.

MLK Day marks the birthday of King, a minister, activist and one of the prominent leaders of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of five major organizers of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where around 250,000 people from across the country marched and protested on the National Mall.

Among the speeches, music and performances that day in Washington D.C., King gave his now iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

More: ‘Tell ’em about the dream, Martin!’: Memories from the crowd at MLK’s March on Washington

In honor of the civil rights activist, the Doña Ana County branch of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organized several events in Las Cruces over the holiday weekend. The theme this year is “Thriving Together.”

Community members are first invited to join in a march and rally at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14 at the Plaza de Las Cruces. The plaza is located at 100 N. Main St.

The next day, the organization is hosting its annual MLK Breakfast. People are invited to purchase a ticket for the event, which will be held at 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 15 at the Las Cruces Convention Center.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez will be the keynote speaker this year.

Tickets for the breakfast are $50 per person and can be purchased online at naacpdac.org/asp-products/mlk-2024-breakfast. The Las Cruces Convention Center is located at 680 E. University Ave.

Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on X, formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: March in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in Las Cruces