LEGACY LAUDED
MLK Saratoga to hold Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2020 Celebration Weekend
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >>
MLK Saratoga has a full slate of events planned for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2020 Celebration Weekend.
The local organization, which shares Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of peace and justice for all, is presenting several events from Friday through Monday around Saratoga Springs.
Lezlie Dana, who is a cochair of the MLK Saratoga along with Garland Nelson and Hollyday Hammond, said the purpose of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Celebration Weekend is “to elevate the focus of Dr. Martin Luther King in such a way that people ripple it out in their lives on a more ongoing basis,” she said. “We utilize the arts as a significant form of social action and engagement to create broader conversation.”
This year’s festival theme is Climate Change: The Civil and Human Rights Issue of Our Time.
Festivities will kick off on Friday evening with the fifth annual Dr. King Challenge
program an energizing evening of provocative artistic performances, calling out the ongoing need for Dr. King’s vision and activism. An opening reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Win and Place Room of the Holiday Inn at 232 Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
This event will include music by The Azaam Hameed R&B Ensemble featuring Annette Harris, dancing, light refreshments and cash bar. Everyone is invited. Reservations are requested and there is a suggested donation of $10.
Saturday’s events will begin with a Sunrise Movement Workshop and Hub Meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Frederick Allen Lodge, located at 69 Beekman St. in Saratoga Springs. The Sunrise Movement is a national youth-led movement to address climate change through political action. All young people are invited.
The day’s programming will continue with Conversations in Freedom from 12:30 to 1:30 p .m. on Saturday at Caffé Lena, located at 47 Phila St. in Saratoga Springs. This family program will feature an hour of story and songs quilted together for a deep look into America’s black working class in the early 20th century, with special guests Black Stars and Black Diamonds with Penny Meacham, Donald “The Soul Man” Hyman, Sister Amelia and Estreja Turner.
Afterward, Caffé Lena will also host Whitewashed from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. This event includes an original documentary theater performance by Creative Action Unlimited, based on black history, current events, and the personal experiences of the cast. The program has adult themes, and parental discretion is advised.
On Saturday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Spring Street Gallery, located at 110 Spring Street, Saratoga Springs, Yaddo presents Writing Across Boundaries – Violence, Race, Religion and Beyond, with Uwem Akpan. Akpan is the author of the acclaimed short story collection, Say You’re One of Them, which won the Commonwealth Prize, the Open Book Prize, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was named an Oprah Book Club selection as well as one of Entertainment
Weekly’s “Best of the Decade.”
Then on Sunday, Presbyterian New England Congregational Church, located at 24 Circular St. in Saratoga Springs, will host A Joyful Noise! With Garland Nelson with Lena’s Heavenly Voices from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Nelson, the gospel music director along with the gospel choir Lena’s Inspirational Voices will lead this program that is meant to be soul-cleansing and spiritraising.
Later that day at the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church performance artist and farmer Amani Olugbala of Soul Fire Farm will present an interactive program called Farming While Black: Ending Racism and Seeding Sovereignty from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Presbyterian New England Congregational Church, 24 Circular Street, Saratoga Springs.
Sunday will wrap up with an All Are Welcome Here Community Dinner from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the same church, where people can join in breaking bread together and sharing in the company of old and new friends. Attendees are welcome to bring a dish to share if they can.
Monday, the official Martin Luther King Jr. Day, will include a Morning of Service with community volunteer projects from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Dutcher Community Room of the Saratoga Springs Public Library, located at 49 Henry St. in Saratoga Springs.
Registration begins at 9:15 a.m. A list of projects can be found online at www.mlksaratoga.org/morning-ofservice.
The Dr. King Community Commemoration Program, with a keynote address by Aaron Mair, is scheduled for 2to 4 p.m. on Monday at the United Methodist Church, located at 175 Fifth Ave. in Saratoga Springs. Mair, former Director of the Sierra Club, will speak about Climate Justice: Democracy in Action. This event will also include songs, sharings and social action with Dr. Mary Nell Morgan, Kathy Johnson of Better Angels, Joseph Jakob and an ice cream social sponsored by Ben & Jerry’s of Saratoga Springs.
All are invited to this free event. Donations are always welcomed.
More information about MLK Saratoga and the 2020 Dr. King Celebration Weekend, including a full schedule of events, can be found online at www.mlksaratoga.org.