What To Do For the Holiday

While Monday is the holiday, Sunday is the actual birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Bostonist realizes we don't really need a Boston connection to talk about him, what with the effect he had on the national stage (including the Commonwealth, of course), but it always bears mentioning that he did a Ph.D. at Boston University, which is cool (as is the memorial statue dedicated to him at BU, shown at right - it has 50 birds in flight to represent freedom throughout the nation). Bostonist usually likes to mark the day by listening to King's famous "I have a dream" speech (an mp3 of it can be found here), but there are plenty of other events around town:

Admission to the Museum of Fine Arts is free from 10:00 to 4:45 (thanks to the Citizens Bank Foundation) and there are lots of special events to mark the occasion, including a hip-hop dance performance by Bostonist favorite The Floorlords. (Fine art + breakdancing + no money from your pocket = the awesomest.)

At noon, civil rights legend, the Reverend Joseph Lowery, who, along with M.L.K. Jr., was a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56 and a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition, will speak at Faneuil Hall. We've heard he's quite the orator, and what could be better on this holiday than to hear from someone who actually knew and worked with King?

At 3:00, the Boston Museum of Afro-American History sponsors a free concert by the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra's Intensive Community Program at the Old West Church on Cambridge Street downtown. In addition to music inspired by Dr. King's life, local luminaries, including gubernatorial hopeful Deval Patrick, will read some of his speeches.