New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Mayor Jon Mitchell is pleased to join with the Greater New Bedford Area Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee in welcoming the public to attend the “Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Remembrance Celebration.” The celebration will be held on Sunday, January 18, 2015 3:00—5:00PM at the First Unitarian Church, 71 8th Street in New Bedford.
“I encourage everyone to attend the Celebration and take advantage of the opportunity to join with the community in reflecting on Dr. King’s central message of peace and unity,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell.
Dr. King was an integral part of the American Civil Rights Movement which laid the foundation for the theory and practice of inclusion and diversity in American society and around the world. Though he was assassinated in 1968, Dr. King’s dream lives on, touching the hearts and minds of people throughout the world and inspiring them to practice nonviolence.
Each year the program is hosted at a different venue to send the message that it is truly a program of the community. The theme for the 2015 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Remembrance Celebration is “Justice For All” which was at the core of the nonviolent movement Dr. King led in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to achieve legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. Dr. King went on to lead similar campaigns against poverty and international conflict, always maintaining fidelity to his principles that men and women everywhere, regardless of color or creed, are equal members of the human family. Dr. King’s teachings continue to be relevant in today’s society.
The keynote speaker this year will be Massachusetts Attorney General-Elect Maura Healey. Attorney General-Elect Healey will take the oath of office on January 21st. Prior to her election, she helped lead the Attorney General’s Office over the last seven years as head of the Civil Rights Division and as Chief of the Public Protection and Business and Labor Bureaus. She is committed to building upon the state’s record of nation leading advocacy, as the most effective and forward-thinking office in the country.
Other program highlights will include musical selections from the popular gospel choir Deliverance of the United House of Prayer, Miss New Bedford Outstanding Teen, and the John Avery Parker Elementary School chorus. Special musical guest Sid Sriram, a young Indian-American singer-songwriter, will again delight the audience with several musical selections.
The program will also feature the announcement of the winner of the annual student essay contest. The annual essay contest, sponsored by the MLK Planning Committee for the last 8 years, enables the program to collaborate with New Bedford Public Schools students. It is a great way to help teach a younger generation about the civil rights movement by encouraging them to research, analyze and connect the past with the present day.
The Members of the MLK 2014 Planning Committee include representatives from The United House of Prayer, Bethel AME Church, Grace Episcopal Church, First Unitarian Church, The Community Foundation, The City of New Bedford Department of Community Services, The City of New Bedford Human Relations Commission and the local chapter of the NAACP.
For more information, please contact Marci Pina-Christian or New Bedford Department of Community Services at (508) 979-1464.
