NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The New Orleans Public Library is honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with “Remember! Celebrate! Act!”, a virtual celebration, on Thursday, Jan. 14, and Friday, Jan. 15.
Organized by the Library’s African American Resource Collection and Equity and Inclusion Librarian Shukrani Gray, this event is aimed at teaching participants about Dr. King’s work as a social justice activist, as well as educating attendees how they, too, can get involved in social justice activism.
The event will be presented in two parts over the course of two days and will feature speakers and presentations by local artists and local organizations that provide social justice opportunities to young people.
“This year we remember, celebrate, and act in recognition of Dr. King’s work in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and the salient works of local organizations, past and present, in the movement for social justice,” Gray said. “As always, this program is an educational and uplifting one, and while we cannot have students and teachers in the room with us, we hope they find value in the virtual format and are able to use it as an activity for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on January 18th or for Black History Month.”
“Remember! Celebrate! Act! Part 1” will go live on the Library’s website at 10 am on Thursday, Jan. 14. Part 2 will go live on the Library’s website at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 15. Both events will also be posted on the African American Resource Collection Facebook page.
This innovative program will highlight Bryan Lee, founder of Colloqate Designs, Sophia Rabinovitz, artistic director of Artivism Dance, and Nicole Deggins from Sista Midwife Productions and their work as advocates for social justice, and will feature local artists Sunni Patterson, Casme, Rahim, Cassie Watson, T-Ray the Violinist, and DJ Chinua.
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library and with funds from the Louisiana Endowment For the Humanities. Funds for these grants have been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act economic stabilization plan.
Additional funding was provided by the Union Pacific Foundation. The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of either the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Union Pacific Foundation.
