MLK Day Concert – Are we making progress in the area of race relations?

Brother Dennis and Friends and the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington come together to celebrate and honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 2pm at Follen Community Church.

The tribute to Dr. King and the civil rights movement will feature spirituals and freedom songs performed by a choir led by Dennis L. Slaughter, EdM, DLP. Borther Dennis is founding director of the Boston Community Choir and artistic director of the Boston Pops Orchestra Gospel Choir.

Brother Dennis and Friends will perform some of the songs that uplifted thousands as they participated in the Freedom Rally in April 1965. The Boston rally occured after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and months before the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which was signed in August. This was the first major civil rights protest in the Northeast that was led by Dr. King.

The Rev. Dr. Martin King's April 22, 1965 address to both Houses of the General Court of Massachusetts will be read by a Lexington High School student. During this address, Dr. King reminds us that the vision of a new nation conceived in liberty was born in Massachusetts. He also responds to the poignant question “Are we really making progress in the area of race relations?”

Tickets - $25 general admission

Proceeds support the ABCL Scholarship Fund and the Black History Project of Lexington.

This concert is ABCL's 2026 Black History Portrait Banners Concert.