MILFORD, Del. - Residents gathered Monday night at the Milford Senior Center to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a community-wide celebration hosted by Downtown Milford Inc. in partnership with the City of Milford and local organizations.
The free, family-friendly event marked the 40th anniversary of the federal holiday honoring Dr. King and featured music, conversation and reflections focused on unity, service and equity.
Keynote speaker Cliffvon Howell, associate vice president of engagement and impact at United Way of Delaware, said the evening was both a commemoration and a celebration of Dr. King’s lasting influence.
Key note speaker Cliffvon Howell delivering a speech.
“Tonight we came here to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the federal holiday of Doctor Martin Luther King, and then also to celebrate his legacy and celebrate the impact that he had on changing America,” Howell said.
Howell emphasized the role of young people in carrying that legacy forward. “The children are our future leaders. They will inherit what we leave behind,” he said, adding that progress toward Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community depends on future generations. “If we listen and take heed to the teachings, then we will ultimately get back to bending that moral arc to justice.”
Milford Vice Mayor Jason James said the city reflects Dr. King’s dream through action and diversity.
“I believe with all my heart that we are not just studying the life and the works and the methods of Dr. King. We’re actually living it and putting it into action,” James said. “There’s a little bit of all ethnicities in the city of Milford, so we live the culture and we live the dream of Dr. King very well.”
Organizers said the event aimed to honor Dr. King’s legacy while inspiring continued unity and community engagement in Milford.