Holiday, January 20, 1986, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Illinois Holiday Council sponsored a community service at Union Missionary Baptist Church. After the first observance of the MLK Holiday, the MLK Council continued to sponsor each year a community-wide service on the holiday. In 1992, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Illinois Holiday Council changed its name to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrati
on Committee, and it decided to hold monthly meetings for the planning of annual programs. Also, the MLK Committee decided to expand the commemoration of the holiday to a two-day celebration, which included a performance by the Danville Symphony Orchestra on the first day and the MLK Community-Wide Service on the second day. In 1994, the MLK Committee decided to add to its list of annual programs a summer event called Community Day. Community Day, which is held every July in Lincoln Park, is a fellowship program of speaking presentations, singing and partaking in our favorite summer foods, such as bar-b-que. In 1997, the MLK Committee established the MLK Scholarship for a local high school senior who is planning to pursue a higher level of education after graduation. Therefore, the first day of the celebration was changed to a Scholarship Banquet/Program. The MLK Committee meets the first Thursday of every month at St. James United Methodist Church.
