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In 2026, against the backdrop of yearlong semiquincentennial celebrations, the U.S. will mark its 31st annual MLK Day of Service.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was born out of federal legislation co-authored by Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis.
What started in 1996 in Philadelphia with 1,000 volunteers has grown into a “day on” with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the country. Philly remains home to what organizers call the nation’s largest MLK Day event.
Here’s a look at how the city will be marking the federal holiday this year.
How will Philly mark MLK Day 2026?
On Monday, Jan. 19, Temple University will act as the Philly region’s volunteer hub for the first time in more than 15 years.
This year, the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service theme will be the commitment to civil rights through equity and education.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker on Wednesday announced the city’s MLK Day plans alongside Todd Bernstein, founder and director of the event and president of the nonprofit Global Citizen.
King, Bernstein said, “believed that a quality education is a fundamental right to breaking cycles of poverty to achieve social change.” Though the nation has made progress, Bernstein cautioned that inequities and barriers remain, citing federal efforts to erase the history of “racism, slavery, Jim Crow and the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
MLK Day, Bernstein emphasized, is “not just a birthday celebration,” but an “opportunity to make King’s vision of social justice our mission, too.” And not just on MLK Day, he added, but every day, as King used to say, “with ‘the fierce urgency of now.’”
To mark the occasion, Temple will host a variety of service projects, including a jobs fair, a health and wellness fair and other family-friendly activities.
Some of the university’s opportunities on campus will include workshops on year-round civic engagement, a kids’ carnival with educational activities, a noon rally for peace and justice and a Reading Captains training, as part of a citywide early literacy initiative
Volunteers will also help assemble “book arks,” which will offer free books in underserved communities, as well as hygiene kits for people experiencing homelessness.
At 3 p.m., the Philadelphia Orchestra will wrap up the day with its annual MLK Day tribute concert, for the first time at the Kimmel Center’s Marian Anderson Hall. Those interested in attending may reserve free tickets online.
The Kimmel Center will simultaneously host a food drive, in partnership with Philabundance. Residents are encouraged to donate non-perishable foods to help neighbors struggling with food insecurity.
