Martin Luther King Commemorations
Westminster Abbey and Christian Aid mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the death of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, a special event will be held at Westminster Abbey in partnership with Christian Aid at 12 Noon on Wednesday April 4, 2018.

Called Rediscovering Justice: A Service of Hope, the service will focus on three areas that distinguished Dr King’s fight for justice and equality: his Motivation, exploring the role of faith in seeking justice; his Conviction, the passion emanating from the world and circumstances of the marginalized and disadvantaged communities; and his Actions, exploring his approach and what he did to bring about transformation.

Dr King was a Baptist minister who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. He played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the United States, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was shot dead in Memphis on April 4, 1968, aged just thirty-nine. Christian Aid enjoyed a warm relationship with Dr King, who visited its offices on his occasional visits to the UK.

He is commemorated at the Abbey with a statue above the Great West Door - one of ten statues to 20th century martyrs which were dedicated in 1998. Registrations for the service are closed due to oversubscriptions, but registration is available for the Rediscovering Justice Symposium: Exploring What Justice Looks Like, at St Margaret’s Church next to the Abbey from 3-6pm, to further explore these issues. Free tickets for the symposium can be booked separately at mlk50sym.eventbrite.co.uk

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