New York State Attorney General, Letitia James. Associated Press / Richard Drew
Caribbean Life, January 15-21, 2021 3
By Nelson A. King
The 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. New York State commemoration
will take place on Monday with “Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights
Then and Now.”
According to the Empirestateplaza,
the one-hour tribute to Dr. King will
begin streaming online at 10:00 am
and will broadcast on PBS stations
across New York State.
The production will showcase “some
of the people and organizations across
New York State that embody the principles
of one of America’s most significant
leaders for social justice, freedom,
and equality,” Empirestateplaza said.
“Through the eyes of New Yorkers
from Buffalo to Albany, Lake Placid
to New York City, the program will
focus on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
life and dreams with music, art, and
inspiring stories that reflect the fight
for civil rights then and now across
the state,” it added.
Empirestateplaza said other events
marking Dr. King’s celebration include
the 2020-2021 Statewide Food Drive, a
community service initiative.
New York State agencies and several
community-based organizations have
helped to collect over 652,906 pounds
of food and raised over $122,091 in
donations to date, Empirestateplaza
said.
It said donations are collected and
distributed in every region of the state;
from the major urban areas of New
York City, Albany and Buffalo, to the
rural towns of Sherburne and Ogdensburg.
The food drive is co-sponsored by
the Food Bank Association of New
York State.
The 2020-2021 Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Statewide Food Drive is held
from Dec. 11, 2020 through Feb. 12,
2021.
By Nelson A. King
New York Attorney General, Letitia
James said on Wednesday that she was
ready to take legal action in response
to reports that insurrectionists and
domestic terrorists are considering
riots at the New York state Capitol in
Albany and at state Capitols across the
nation between now and next Wednesday,
Jan. 20, when Joseph Biden and
Kamala Harris are sworn in as the president
and vice president, respectively, of
the United States.
“After last week’s deadly attack at the
US Capitol, my office is closely monitoring
all threats against our state Capitol
in Albany,” James told Caribbean
Life. “While I am working with law
enforcement on the ground to ensure
the chaos that we saw in Washington,
D.C. does not take place right here in
New York, we will not hesitate to take
legal action against anyone who seeks
to terrorize or harm legislators, Capitol
staff, law enforcement, or members of
the public.
“Our system of government may not
be perfect, but it works, and we will not
allow those fueled by lies and unhinged
conspiracy theories to run wild as they
violently seek to overthrow the government
through sedition and insurrection,”
she added.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, our
duly elected president and vice president,
will assume office on Jan. 20, and
history will remember all who sought
to destroy our democratic republic,”
James continued.
On Wednesday, the FBI urged police
chiefs across the country to be on
high alert for extremist activity and
to share intelligence on any threats
they encounter, as the US government
issued a dire intelligence bulletin warning
of potential violence ahead of the
inauguration, according to the New
York Times.
In the call with police chiefs, the
Times reported that Christopher Wray,
the FBI. director, and Kenneth Cuccinelli,
the acting deputy secretary of
the Department of Homeland Security,
warned about potential attacks on state
capitols, federal buildings, the homes
of congressional members and businesses.
“They don’t want to be dismissive
of anything,” Chief Jorge Colina of
the Miami Police Department, one of
thousands of officials participating in
the call, told the Times. “So, even if it
sounds aspirational, even if it’s just like,
‘Yeah, it’d be great if the whole place is
burned down,’ they don’t want us to
think, ‘Ah, that’s just some knucklehead,
pinhead,’ and be dismissive.”
According to the Times, federal
authorities also issued a joint intelligence
bulletin warning that the deadly
breach at the Capitol last week would
be a “significant driver of violence” for
armed militia groups and racist extremists
who are targeting the presidential
inauguration next Wednesday.
The National Counterterrorism
Center and the Justice and Homeland
Security Departments warned in the
bulletin that extremist groups, aiming
to trigger a race war “may exploit
the aftermath of the Capitol breach by
conducting attacks to destabilize and
force a climactic conflict in the United
States,” the Times said.
It said Defense Department officials
pointed out that Army Secretary Ryan
McCarthy had decided to arm National
Guard members who will be deployed to
protect the Capitol building complex as
Biden and Harris are sworn into office.
A woman holds a portrait of Martin
Luther King, Jr. at a memorial
dedication at the National Mall in
Washington Oct. 16, 2011. REUTERS/
Yuri Gripas, File
James ready for legal action
against insurrectionists,
domestic terrorists
NY State
celebrates
MLK