Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Suggestions for a more peaceful day.

Paining by Leon Devenice.

I woke up this morning with alternating senses of dread, excitement, and worry, yearning for a comforting bowl of oatmeal.

With today’s Inauguration, extreme weather blanketing much of the nation (including Red Flag winds once again hitting LA tonight), and so much uncertainty, I felt the world closing in—and it wasn’t even 6:30 a.m.

Then, a light-

My friend and former HLOTS castmate, Clark Johnson, sent out an email to remind friends they could pop some popcorn and watch the excellent 2001 TV movie he directed, Boycott, about the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955-56. It won a Peabody Award for “refusing to allow history to slip into the past.” You can watch it on MAX, Hulu, Prime, and AppleTV.

So I decided to put together a list of activities anyone could engage in today, whether to accompany the Inauguration or, if you are choosing to forgo it, activities that honor Mr. King and the peace, love, and equality that he espoused and bring some greater awareness to our humanness.

Here we go:

There are tons of films to watch that are either about or inspired by MLK; here are 10 of the best

Here’s a great article that goes in-depth on what it took to make MLK Jr. Day a reality.

Check your local community's event calendar for gatherings, protests, and other MLK Jr. Day programming, but here’s the schedule for a couple of cities:

If you live in Chicago, here’s a great list of events to attend.

And, of course, Baltimore events.

Also, on this day, David Lynch’s family has called for a “worldwide group meditation” to celebrate his legacy of creativity, love, and peace. The meditation will last 10 minutes and take place at noon, 12pm, PST.

Finally, here are some suggestions from Time Magazine on how to deal with today if you’re feeling anxious. Basically, meditate, walk, work out, do some haiku, be kind to others, give back, take a bath, sing, and dance.

Good luck to all of us. Those for whom this is a day of celebration of a new leadership, enjoy.

For others, do what you can to stay true to your humanity. Please share your strategies in the comments below.

And for everyone else, yes, Costco is closed today.