‘Remembrance meets responsibility’: Bernice A. King details ‘Beloved Community Commemorative’ service on MLK Day

The King Center will conclude its 2026 commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual Beloved Community Commemorative Service on Monday, Jan. 19.

The work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lives on through The King Center, helmed by his youngest daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King.

The King Center will conclude its 2026 commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual Beloved Community Commemorative Service on Monday, Jan. 19, at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church where King’s father and grandfather, Martin Luther King Sr., preached. The event will stream live on Fox 5 in Atlanta starting at 10:00 a.m. for those who cannot attend in person.

“Each year at #TheKingCenter’s MLK Day Commemorative Service, remembrance meets responsibility,” King wrote in an Instagram post announcing the service. “We honor my father’s life, not by standing still in grief, but by asking what faithfulness looks like now—amid division, suffering, and moral urgency.”

She added, “This moment calls us to recommit to the hard, necessary work of justice, truth, and love in action. That is the charge of creating the Beloved Community, and it remains unfinished.”

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A post shared by Bernice A. King (@berniceaking)

Since Jan. 8, The King Center has held various engagement events ranging from book readings, a global summit, a red carpet screening and conversation about the film “Nothing To See Here: Watts,” a documentary centered on the community of Watts at large made by Bloods, Crips, police and victims of police violence and more. There will be an awards show on Saturday (Jan. 17) honoring the likes of Robert F. Smith, Billie Eilish and Viola Davis and the actual commemorative service on Jan. 19.

In recent years, Bernice A. King has taken several steps to maintain her father’s legacy and prevent it from being bastardized by people using his words incorrectly or out of context, among other things. After denouncing the use of AI in relation to her father’s voice, OpenAI confirmed last October it had “paused generations depicting Dr. King.”

“The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.) and OpenAI have worked together to address how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness is represented in Sora generations. Some users generated disrespectful depictions of Dr. King’s image,” the statement read. “So at King, Inc.’s request, OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures.”

The statement continued, “OpenAI thanks Dr. Bernice A. King for reaching out on behalf of King, Inc., and John Hope Bryant and the AI Ethics Council for creating space for conversations like this.”