‘Rooted In Justice’: Long Beach MLK Day March Returns Monday

LONG BEACH, NY. — A Long Beach tradition returns for another year Monday, as the city gears up to host the 2026 edition of its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day march, a January staple in the city for over 40 years.

The march will begin when participants gather at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Laurelton Boulevard and West Park Avenue, with marching starting at 11:30 and ending when the crowd reaches the Martin Luther King Center at 615 Riverside Blvd. March organizers said transportation will be available from the Martin Luther King Center to the march’s kick-off location, with a celebration and luncheon taking place at the King center after the march. That celebration, organizers said, will feature a keynote address, additional speakers, youth-led music and vocals, spoken word poetry and the formal recognition of this year’s grand marshals.

Part of the organizing team for this year’s march is Adam DeJesus, vice president of the Long Beach Martin Luther King Center. DeJesus co-chairs the planning committee for the celebration with Somone Merchant, board secretary of the Martin Luther King Center. For DeJesus, this year’s march is a reminder of the action that needs to follow for the rest of the year.

“Marching is not only about remembrance, it is about commitment. MLK Day reminds us that Dr. King’s message of nonviolence, unity, and justice still requires action,” DeJesus told Patch. “When we march together each year, we reaffirm that building a stronger and more connected community is ongoing work that we must continue locally, year after year.”

Giving the keynote address Monday will be Reverend Ronald McHenry, while Mother Kathy Williams and Herman Prophett will serve as grand marshals.

“Each of them represents the spirit of Dr. King’s vision through service, leadership, and lasting impact in the community,” DeJesus said.

For McHenry, the chance to give the keynote address is a full-circle moment in a life filled with activism. His great-grandfather, Napoleon McHenry, was an organizer in Long Beach in the 1960s, serving as president of Long Beach’s local NAACP chapter, organizing buses from Long Beach to the March on Washington, and helping organize Dr. King’s visits to Long Beach.

Thursday, McHenry told Patch that his grandmother had walked along Riverside Boulevard side-by-side with Dr. King when he visited the city in the mid-1960s, walking through the North Park and stopping by Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church to meet with Rev. J.J. Evans. The image of his grandmother as a little girl, walking with Dr. King, “has stayed with me, not as nostalgia, but as a reminder that history walks among us, and that ordinary people made extraordinary change possible,” McHenry said.

Ordained through Long Beach’s Evangel Revival Community Church, McHenry currently serves at the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Harlem. McHenry also works as a public school science teacher, and has served as the New York City coordinator for the National Action Network, a racial justice nonprofit founded in 1991 by Rev. Al Sharpton. The chance to give the keynote address, McHenry said, is a chance to continue the work of the man who once walked side-by-side with his grandmother.

“Giving the keynote is both an honor and a mandate. It means we must keep moving. The dream Dr. King articulated, a truly diverse, just, and equitable America, remains unfulfilled,” McHenry said. “In many ways, we are witnessing regression. To stand on this platform is to accept responsibility: not to romanticize King, but to continue and expand the work he began. Celebration without continuation is betrayal.”

When asked about the importance of this year’s celebration, McHenry called this King Day, “more important than ever,” highlighting national political trends that he said are, “sanitizing [King’s] radicalism, erasing Black history (which is American history)…dismantling affirmative action, and rolling back DEI programs that benefit not only people of color, but women, people with disabilities, and working-class white communities as well.”

“This is not a neutral moment, and neutrality has never been the language of justice,” McHenry said. When asked what he hopes people take away from his address, McHenry expressed a similar sentiment to what DeJesus had said: a hope that the celebration could inspire action.

“I hope people leave with a holy discomfort and a renewed fire. As we witness the retrenchment of civil rights and women’s rights, this moment demands courage,” McHenry said. “I want people thinking about their responsibility, not just their feelings. Long Beach, like America, must become a place where all rights are respected, protected, and practiced. That requires action, not applause.”

To DeJesus, that goal of action isn’t an exclusionary one. On the contrary, DeJesus said, he hopes the celebration and the work Long Beach residents take up throughout the year bring people together.

“Events like this bring people together across backgrounds and generations, strengthen community partnerships, and connect residents to the MLK Center’s year-round work,” DeJesus said. “Our mission is rooted in justice, compassion, and shared responsibility, and MLK Day helps turn that mission into real participation through unity, service, and community engagement.”