Community Corner

What's Open, Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Here's your guide to holiday hours in West Bloomfield.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday on Monday is an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of one of our nation's greatest civil right leaders. As such, many state and local offices, banks and credit unions, schools and libraries will be closed.

King, who urged nonviolent resistance as a means to protest racial and other human rights injustices, was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis and would have turned 84 this past Tuesday.

The 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner delivered an early version of his I Have a Dream speech during a 1963 rally in Detroit. This year marks the 50th anniversary of that speech.

Find out what's happening in West Bloomfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," he said later that year during his famous speech in Washington, DC.

Here's a look at what will be open and closed in and around West Bloomfield. Please leave a comment if you have something to add.

Find out what's happening in West Bloomfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Civic Center Drive

  • Town Hall will be closed Monday, as will government offices in Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake and Orchard Lake.
  • The Main Library and Westacres branch will both be open Monday and regularly scheduled story times will be held. Visit the library's website to see what's on their shelf regarding King and his legacy.
  • West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation will be open Monday and regularly scheduled classes with be held.

West Bloomfield School District

  • No classes will held Monday in observance of the holiday.

U.S. post office

  • There will be no mail delivery on Monday.

Trash hauler

  • Rizzo Environmental Services will pick up trash on Monday.

What's happening, what's open

  • Many businesses, including restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores. Call ahead to be sure.

West Bloomfield High School graduate David Merritt will deliver the keynote address at the annual United We Walk march, scheduled on Sunday.

Merritt, a 2004 graduate who helps lead the mega-church Straight Gate Congregation Church of Detroit and is involved as an entrepeneur in philanthropic efforts, will speak on this year's theme of "Unity in the Community."

Meanwhile, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools hosts Rochelle Riley, columnist for the Detroit Free Press, who will speak about this year’s theme in a speech entitled “Every Voice Counts!”

The event takes place between 5-8:30 p.m. Monday at Walled Lake Northern High School.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from West Bloomfield