Community honors King with events

TORRINGTON — Members of Our Culture Is Beautiful will hold a Day of Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday afternoon.

The Noelke Gallery, located at 15 Water St., is the gathering place for the event, which begins with light refreshments and social time at 4:30 p.m.

“Join us at the Noelke Gallery for a time of reflection, dialogue and celebration,” members said in a statement.

The event continues from 5-6 p.m. with the group’s weekly phone-in, giving callers the opportunty to “talk about current issues of racial injustice and inequality that we are dealing with in our communities, and discuss how we might address these issues in a proactive manner,” members said. Denease Singleton will be host for the call.

At 6 p.m., Our Culture is Beautiful co-founder Effie Mwando will give a talk on Rosa Parks, best known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger while riding a segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala., in December 1955. Her actions sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and its success sparked nationwide efforts to end racial segregation of public facilities such as buses and water fountains. Parks later received an award for her actions.

According to biography.com, Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Ala. Her parents, James and Leona McCauley, separated when Parks was 2. Parks’ mother moved the family to Pine Level,

Ala., to live with her parents, Rose and Sylvester Edwards. Both of Parks’ grandparents were former slaves and strong advocates for racial equality; the family lived on the Edwards farm, where Parks would spend her youth. Parks’ childhood brought her early experiences with racial discrimination and activism for racial equality. In one experience, Parks’ grandfather stood in front of their house with a shotgun while Ku Klux Klan members marched down the street.

After the talk, co-founder Angaza Mwando will hold a drum circle.

The public is welcome to attend.

Our Culture Is Beautiful meets weekly on Mondays at Workman AME Zion Church on Brightwood Avenue.