Boston-born disco legend Donna Summer was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a five-time Grammy winner, and sold over 140 million records worldwide. She was born in Dorchester and was raised in Mission Hill before rising to stardom in the 1970s. She passed away at the age of 62 years old on May 17, 2012. This annual event honors her life and celebrates her music and legacy in Boston.



Donna Summer Disco Party will feature:

• music provided by DJ Vince 1
• a special tribute performance by Mary Gaines Bernard, Donna Summer's sister and longtime backing vocalist, and
• appearances by Donna Summer’s nephew, O’Mega Red, and other members of Donna Summer's family.

Schedule:

• 9 a.m. - Parade starts at City Hall Plaza
• 9:30 a.m. - (Paul Revere Mall) Reenactment of the ride of Paul Revere

In partnership with Boston University and the New England Conservatory, the City of Boston will present "A Celebration of the Lives and Legacies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King" on Monday, January 17, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.  The event will be live streamed on both boston.gov and Boston University website, as well as on the City of Boston’s cable network (Xfinity: channel 24, RCN: channel 13, and Fios: channel 962.) 



This year’s program features:       

• Robert A. Brown, President Boston University
• Brianna Bourne, Boston University Arts & Sciences ’22, Boston Latin Academy ‘20
• Saida Grundy, Assistant Professor of Sociology, African American Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies at Boston University
• Andrea Kalyn, President, New England Conservatory
• Katherine Kennedy, Director, Boston University Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground
• Jean Morrison, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Boston University
• Jean-Luc Pierite, Tuncia-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana,
  
  President of the Board of The North American Indian Center of Boston
• Kelsey Russell, Boston University Arts & Sciences ‘22
• Tanisha Sullivan, President of the NAACP Boston Branch
• Andrea Taylor, Senior Diversity Officer, Boston University
• Michelle Wu, Mayor, City of Boston

The program also features musical selections performed by student ensembles and choirs from the New England Conservatory and the Boston University the Inner Strength Gospel Choir.

In previous years, leaders such as U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, Beverly Morgan-Welch, Sonia Sanchez, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Ernest Green of the Little Rock Nine, Judy Richardson of Eyes on the Prize, and civil rights activist and filmmaker Topper Carew served as keynote speakers. Governor Deval Patrick, Chief Justice Roderick Ireland, Boston Poet Laureates Sam Cornish and Danielle Legros Georges, former Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief at Beth Israel Hospital Dr. Augustus White, and WGBH Radio host Eric Jackson are among those who have served as readers in previous years.