Wayne Action for Racial Equality (WARE) and the Redeem Bethel C.O.G.I.C. Community Fellowship Center hosted the Wayne County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on January 19, 2026. Forty marchers kicked off the perfect winter day with a March down Williamson’s Main Street to commemorate Dr. King’s spirited legacy and vision. Upon their arrival at the church, they were joined by over one-hundred people who were officially welcomed by church pastor, Dr. Henry Prior, WARE President, Earl Greene, and Williamson Supervisor, Barry Van Nostrand.

As the celebration of Dr. King’s National Day of Recognition unfolded, those assembled were not disappointed as they gave standing ovations to keynote speaker and performer, Jermaine Barber, to the Soulful Showman, Corey Comer, and to North Star Poets’ Collective, spoken word artist, Matthew Edward Scott. Over twenty students representing Justice Organization of Youth, Lyons Elementary School Art Club and Glow Up Girl and drawn from throughout the county also spoke. The students explained their work to honor the values and accomplishments of not only Dr. King but also twelve different social justice icons who worked to make our nation a more just society. Each presenter in their own way stressed the importance of standing up for racial and social justice to create loving communities that support and unify our neighbors. The audience was reminded that Dr. King did not just have a dream but a willingness to fight and, ultimately, give his life to uplift the poor, to embrace his enemies and preach to our nation’s leaders to lead with love and compassion not hate and division. In that spirit as well, dozens of volunteers made the 2026 MLK Day a success.

The committee extends a special thank you to the recipients of its WARE/MLK Awards for their years of applying MLK’s values and vision to better our communities. They include Nancy Ghertner (WARE Meritorious Lifetime Achievement Award), Pat Hall (Rev. Simmons Humanitarian Award), Beth Ares (MLK Citizenship Award), Rural and Migrant Ministries of Western New York (MLK Institutional Service Award) and WARE/MLK Student Service Award winners, Ave Ellis (Newark High School), Stavell Le Brecht (Lyons High School) and Ashley Morgan (Marion High School)