MLK Day of Service 2026

Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s MLK Day of Service 2026

Please join us for our 6th Annual MLK Day of Service! We are excited to collaborate with Birmingham City Council District 1 again for a watershed cleanup on Monday, January 19 from 9 AM to 11 AM at the Huffman Ballpark (421 Red Lane Road, Birmingham, AL 35206). Click here for registration and more details.

This MLK Day of Service will be Mary Allen Murray’s first cleanup in her new role as our engagement coordinator. Having become a full-time member of our staff on January 1, Mary Allen is excited to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in this way, as she explained:

“Dr. King once said, ‘No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.’ As we take the time to honor his life and achievements, let us be reminded that positive change starts at a grassroots level. Our cleanup events aim to embody this philosophy and showcase that every effort, no matter how small, contributes to uplifting our communities and protecting our environment.”

It is especially fitting that Birmingham City Council District 1 is our co-host for this MLK Day of Service. District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods — the grandson and grandnephew of Civil Rights leaders Bishop Calvin Wallace Woods Sr. and Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. — and his Chief of Staff, Amanda Plain, have been our most consistent partners since I launched our Volunteer Litter Cleanups Program in 2021. Another one of our most frequent partners, UAB Football, will volunteer at the cleanup.

Councilor Woods and Mary Allen will preview this cleanup on WBRC’s News at Noon at 12PM on Wednesday, January 14 and ABC 3340’s Talk of Alabama at 9AM Thursday, January 15. WBRC’s Good Day Alabama will be conducting live interviews during the cleanup.

Just as this cleanup is one of many ways to honor MLK Day, cleanups are one of many ways we serve the 17-county Black Warrior River basin. While we had several significant achievements in 2025 through other tactics, such as patrolling the watershed and suing polluters, cleanups have become special to us because they provide avenues for everybody to protect local waterways and communities. Last year, our 34 cleanups engaged over 725 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who removed over 23,548 pounds of harmful trash! As Dr. King said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

If you cannot attend this cleanup but would like to receive other service opportunities from Black Warrior Riverkeeper, please sign up for our monthly newsletter. We are so grateful for everyone who supports our work for something everybody needs: clean water.

Happy New Year,

Charles Scribner
Executive Director
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
[email protected]
205-458-0095

Black Warrior Riverkeeper volunteers with the dumpster full of trash they removed in from the watershed on MLK Day 2024. Photo by Amanda Plain, Chief of Staff, Birmingham City Council District 1.