Holiday Hours: Martin Luther King Jr. Day / Pittsfield.com

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is being celebrated Monday, Jan. 19. It is a federal holiday to commemorate the birthday of the civil rights activist born Jan. 15, 1929. It is observed on the third Monday in January.

King, a Baptist minister, led the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s by espousing nonviolent protest. His best-known address, the "I Have a Dream" speech, was given in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to a crowd of 250,000 who participated in the March on Washington. The 1964 Nobel Prize winner was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

While the reverend was born in Atlanta, he has ties to Massachusetts. He earned his doctorate from Boston University and met and married his wife, Coretta Scott, in Boston. The state's U.S. Sen. Edward Brooke sponsored the first bill to declare a holiday in his honor in the 1970s. MLK Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1986 but a number of states, particularly in the South and West, did not add it to their list of state holidays until some years later.

While federal and state offices are closed, only about a third of businesses give their employees the time off.

Northern Berkshire Community Coalition will hold its annual Day of Service on Monday and present the annual Peacemaker Award in MCLA's Venable Hall gym. This year's award will be presented to Wendy Penner, a volunteer community organizer and champion for public health approaches; the celebration begins with check-in at MCLA's Church Street Center at 11 a.m. with presentations and lunch provided by the Berkshire Food Project. Volunteers will depart to their service sites or stay on site to work on activities at the gym at 12:45 p.m.

Berkshire Community College will start off its annual Day of Service event with keynote speaker Alÿcia Bacon, the community engagement officer for equity and inclusion at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and breakfast at Price Memorial AME Zion Church at 10 a.m. This event is co-sponsored by the Berkshire Branch of the NAACP. Volunteer activities at local service sites will follow.

Multicultural BRIDGE will host a weekend of activities with community partners beginning Friday, Jan. 16, with the theme "Mission Possible, Part II: Building Community and Unification in a Nonviolent Way." Volunteer opportunities on Friday include packing and delivering food and supplies; a community concert will be held that evening at Barrington Hall, which will also host a family- and youth-centered concert on Saturday.

Sunday centers on worship at Macedonia Baptist Church; Monday focuses on service, memory, and civic engagement with a public reading of King’s 1968 speech, intergenerational service projects. A facilitated community conversation on "Trust & Safety" will be held with residents, civic leaders, and public safety partners to reflect on both actual safety and the perception of safety in the community

Greylock Glen Outdoor Center in Adams will host a reading at 5 p.m. of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" followed by a potluck shared meal. You don't have to bring a potluck or read to attend but both or either are welcome. Interested in reading? Contact info@greylockglenresort.com.

Federal, state and local offices; no mail delivery.
Banks
Stock markets
Public colleges and schools, most private schools
Public libraries
Some offices and businesses
BRTA is not running; office is closed
Berkshire Food Project