Against a backdrop of heightened racial tension, widespread political unrest and a global pandemic that, for the first time in 36 years, is keeping thousands from joining together to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. in Denver, this year’s holiday looks and feels unlike any other.

Still, the reverend’s calls for racial, social and economic justice ring as loudly as ever. 

“In light of what is going on, Dr. King’s life means even more now than when he was living,” said former Colorado lawmaker Wilma Webb, who, after fighting opposition for years, managed to pass a bill in 1984 that established Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the state, the first celebration of its kind anywhere in the country. 

“We have to stay focused on the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., because it wasn’t just for a period of time but was for all humanity,” she instructed in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “Even though we don’t have Jim Crow segregation and we don’t have slavery in its original form, we still have racism.”

Webb – the spouse of Wellington Webb, Denver’s first Black mayor – drew parallels between many of the white nationalists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and the skinheads and Ku Klux Klansmen who in 1992 rallied on the steps of the Colorado state Capitol in protest of Denver’s celebration before their provocations gave rise to rioting in the streets.

“They were just sort of slapped on the wrist,” she remembered, “even though there were people hurt.” 

Although Webb described watching the violent rampage unfold in Washington, D.C., this year as “appalling,” “dangerous” and “heartbreaking,” she omitted the word “surprising.”

“This is not new to me, and it’s not new to people who really know what racism does and what bigotry does,” she said. “Mrs. Coretta Scott King once said that the issues of race ebb and tide; they’re just like the ocean … and what we are witnessing now is just a continuation.”

But there’s a way to break the cycle, she said. 

“Those of us who want righteousness to prevail, we cannot become shrinking violets,” Webb advised. “Dr. King always said that love always conquers hate. And we have to go on that kind of premise in order for us to be able to rid the world of all of the kinds of bigotry that there are.” 

Though this year’s Marade – a combination of a march for civil rights and parade celebrating King’s life – is put on pause, event organizers at the MLK Colorado Holiday Commission are encouraging residents to take part in a day of service in their own communities and share it with the commission on social media to be featured on their website. 

The theme of this year’s event is “Good Trouble,” a nod to the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who last year instructed the country to “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”

The MLK Colorado Holiday Commission is also organizing a day of events that can be viewed online, which will feature some of the traditions typically associated with the event, including the laying of the wreath and the passing of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. unity torch. 

Additionally, the commission will host an online panel discussion focused on criminal justice reform, featuring Colorado Attorney General Phil J. Weiser. 

The MLK Colorado Holiday Commission is also partnering with nonprofits, including the Struggle of Love Foundation and the Denver Rescue Mission to collect and distribute food, hygiene products and warm clothing to people in need. The commission will also feed hot meals to up to 5,000 people by the end of the week. 

More information can be found at https://www.drmartinlkingjrchc.org/.