By Vinette K. Pryce
For the 34th consecutive
year, Brooklyn Academy of
Music will honor the legacy of
Dr. Martin King Luther Jr. with
a weekend full of political and
cultural attractions that will
likely attract SRO audiences to
the landmark location.
Schedule to coincide with
the anniversary of his 91st
birthday on Jan. 15, the
national holiday celebrations
slate a photo exhibition, film
screenings, multi-media presentation,
music performances
encompassing gospel, rock and
funkadelic soul, culminating
with a Monday tribute, which
annually calls the likes of US
senators, congressional representatives,
the mayor, borough
president, city councilmembers,
activists, intellectuals and
prominent civic leaders.
Sen. Charles Schumer regularly
boasts that he has never
missed the federal holiday celebrations
annually held on the
third Monday of January.
Perhaps the most consistent
guest to the ceremonies, on
occasion the senior senator has
asserted that his attendance
was only once denied when in
2009 he was dutifully tasked to
officiate inaugural installation
in Washington D.C. for the second
term of office for President
Barack Obama, the first Black
president of the United States.
Often poignant, inspiring
and even humorous, Schumer’s
message annually injects a
letter Dr. King penned from a
jail in Birmingham.
With nostalgic detail the
politician is known to stir the
senses of all who hear and
rehear the turmoil of the times
that Blacks were jailed for having
melanin.
This year marking the first
such tribute to launch the
hosting for the second decade
of the millennium, an election
Caribbean L 20 ife, January 17-23, 2020
year for president of the
United States amidst a looming
impeachment trial, deep divisions
among rival political parties,
recently deployed military
insertions to the Middle East
following the assassination of
Iranian General Qasem Soleimani
— politics could override
platitudes to the Civil Rights
leader and Nobel Prize winner
who was assassinated on April
4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Although a keynote address
by Nikole Hannah-Jones, New
York Times Magazine creator
of the 1619 Project might temper
the prevailing conversation
when she talks about the multimedia
initiative she perceived
detailing aspects of the arrival
of Africans to Jamestown, Virginia
four hundred years ago.
She will likely also elaborate
on the system of slavery that
manifested since then.
On that same occasion,
musical performances by the
Brooklyn Interdenominational
Choir and Son Little will also
soulfully divert focus on the
current and past political state
of the nation.
Following the civic and cultural
ceremony which begins at
10:30 a.m. inside the Howard
Cherry blossom trees surround the Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Memorial at dusk, Wednesday, April 3, 2019, in Washington.
Associated Press / Patrick Semansky
Gilman Opera House at 30
Lafayette Ave., added free treat
will feature an almost forgotten
documentary titled “Amazing
Grace.”
Originally filmed in 1972,
the film features Aretha Franklin
at the New Temple Missionary
Baptist Church in Watts,
Los Angeles, California where
she candidly and soulfully
exhibited the talent that later
dubbed her the Queen of Soul.
Until last year, the film was
never released. Reportedly
Franklin prevented its release
citing its raw and unpolished
outcome. Last summer, crowd
packed into venues to witness
the landmark production
which offers a peek into a Black
church, an unprecedented performance
and the making of a
production.
Two decades into millenium MLK
tribute highlights BAM calendar
You Can Lose 20-30lbs in 45 Days!!
Inquire within now!
917.444.3043
B Q
1316 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY
www.EliteWeightLossNY.com
B7
B82
Free Consultation-
GET STARTED TODAY!!!
BEST MEDICAL WEIGHT LOSS
/www.EliteWeightLossNY.com
/www.EliteWeightLossNY.com
