King Committee of Greater Attleboro Hosts 37th Annual King Holiday Program

On Monday, January 15, 2024, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee of Greater Attleboro will host its 37th annual commemoration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The commemorative programs begin at 1:00 p.m. with a Municipal Program held at Attleboro City Hall, 77 Park Street. The program will feature local and state representatives and a performance by the School of Rock.

At 2:00 p.m., the committee will host an interfaith service at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 841 N. Main Street, Attleboro. The service will feature Kalila Barnett, senior program officer, climate resilience, Barr Foundation, and member of the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Council, as the keynote speaker. The service will also feature storyteller V Raffini, Rhode Island Storytellers; Steelpan Drummer, Jefferey Clayton of PanNeubean Steel; pianist Daniel Hill, Providence, and the Attleboro High School Mixed Chorus, under the direction of Mr. Gary Hyman.

Barnett will address the committee's theme, entitled “The Nature Gap: Bridging the Racial Divide in Outdoor Spaces.”

Ms. Barnett will discuss the current state of environmental equity across Massachusetts and the United States.

“As our nation continues to address systemic racism, the committee knows that much work needs to be done to advance the cause of environmental equity—from addressing racism in outdoor spaces to finding remedies to alleviate the disproportionate levels of pollution in communities of color,” says Ethel Garvin, chairperson of the MLK Committee.

“Barnett’s talk will focus on the environmental issues impacting African Americans and other historically marginalized groups and communities.”

The program is supported in part by a grant from the Attleboro Land Trust and the Rotary Foundation of Attleboro.

In addition to being a storyteller, V Raffini is a poet and oral historian and playwright. During the interfaith service, Raffini will share an original story about a young girl’s struggles with environmental equity. Raffini is also the youth program director at Southside Community Land Trust, Providence.


Musician Jefferey Clayton is the founder of PanNeubean Steel, a steelpan band that showcases the versatility of Caribbean, Afro-Caribbean, Jazz, and Classical music styles and the beautiful sounds of the islands.

Daniel Hill studied jazz performance at the University of Rhode Island and is currently a member of the Daniel Hill Quartet and keyboardist for Toad and the Stooligans.

A goodwill offering will be taken up during the interfaith service. Half of the offering will be donated to a local charity. The remainder of the offering will fund the committee’s W. Duane Lockard Scholarship and its general operating fund.

Members of the committee include Sonia Aguiar, Attleboro; Ethel Garvin, Attleboro; Jenifer DeAndrade, Attleboro; Myra Kinds, Mansfield; Melissa Martin, Attleboro; Dawn McKetchnie, Attleboro; and Jermaine T. Patterson, Attleboro