2016 MLK Supplement

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King’s Dream – Still Worth Fighting For

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor

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In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Wilhelmina J. Rolark THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday.

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PUBLISHER Denise Rolark Barnes STAFF D. Kevin McNeir, Editor Ron Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor Lafayette Barnes, IV, Assistant Photo Editor John E. De Freitas, Sports Photo Editor Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor ZebraDesigns.net, Design & Layout Mable Neville, Bookkeeper Mickey Thompson, Social Sightings columnist Stacey Palmer, Social Media Specialist Angie Johnson, Circulation REPORTERS Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, Eve Ferguson, Will Ford (Prince George’s County Writer), Elton Hayes, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy Rowley, Kia Croom, Sarafina Wright (General Assignment Writer) PHOTOGRAPHERS John E. DeFreitas, Shevry Lassiter, Roy Lewis, Corey Parrish, Travis Riddick, Nancy Shia

Some of you may remember when you were in grade school and temporarily lost your focus – looking out of the window, scanning the horizon and – daydreaming.

We’ve all had moments when we stepped outside of our body, allowed our spirit to soar and contemplated developing, creating and achieving something new that would make a difference in the world.

In this supplement, we remember one of Black America’s, in fact, the world’s, most respected, celebrated and quoted dreamers, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King was a self-described dreamer as many of his sermons confirm. But even the way he lived his life, willing to die for a cause that he knew was much bigger than himself, illustrates the lengths he would go in order to make his dream a reality.

When God gives us a dream, like King’s, many of us hold on to it. We cherish it, we cling to it – but far too many of us don’t’ put in the necessary work and steps needed to move from dream status to real world status. That’s what’s so amazing about Dr. King.

Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech has been repeated by youth and aspiring leaders around the world. We have watched videos and listened to recordings of his spirit-inspired words. We have lifted our voices in harmony, repeating lyrics from his favorite songs like “Oh, Freedom,” We Shall Overcome” and “Precious Lord.”

Since his death in 1968, and since his birthdate became a national holiday, we pause on or around January 15th to remember our fallen general – a man who was determined to live his life as a “drum major for peace.”

In the pages that follow, with a theme of “Change is Coming,” we lift up the struggle, sacrifice, sweat and tears that became tantamount to King’s achievements – and failures.

As the snow falls outside and the temperature hits bone-chilling lows, we ready ourselves for a heated fall when Americans will once again march to the polls to elect a new president. Change is definitely on the way. But the question remains, what kind of changes will we see?

A popular adage proclaims “When America catches a cold, Blacks get the flu.” But we can do something about that. We can, if we are willing to walk together, march together, protest together, boycott together and refuse to accept second-class citizenship, make this a better place for all of us.

Voting rights have been stripped from many Blacks and other men and women of color.

Clocks have been set for reverse as other rights – privileges that come with being Americans – have been reduced, locked away – even removed from the table. When will we say “enough is enough?”

King, if he were still alive, would be the first to say that his “dream” has become a nightmare.

But he wouldn’t stop there. He’d do something about it.

If we want our country to be a better place for our children, the next generation, we should become more resolute in demanding that America makes good on the “check” that it long promised to all of its citizens. We need to cash in that check today!

James Brown once sang, “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.” Indeed, we should be proud.

Proud of the fortitude and determination of our ancestors. Proud of the achievements made by Black men, women and children, many of whom had little more than a hope, prayer and an idea.

But we cannot sit down or rest on our laurels. If we really want change to become evident, it must begin with each of us.

Happy Birthday Dr. King. Now, let’s get busy, take on the haters, and bring on the change.

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

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Dr. King’s ‘Lost’ Speech Unveiled 53 Years Ago He Stunned Washington

By Sarafina Wright WI Staff Writer @dreamersexpress Fifty-three years ago Martin Luther King Jr. became the first African American to speak at the National Press Club in Northwest, but his speech had been considered lost until now.

Excerpts of the dialogue were unveiled Jan. 11 to an audience, followed by a panel discussion of those who knew King best in the same press club ballroom he stood in half a century ago.

“You would wonder why it took so long to have a black person speak here,” Moderator Joe Madison and host of SiriusXM’s “Urban View” said. “You could have had Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Marian Anderson. Then you realize the National Press Club didn’t admit its first woman until 1971, so we’ve come a long way.”

Simeon Booker, the National Press Club’s 1982 Fourth Estate Award winner and one of the first African Americans to join the club, served on the committee that brought King there on July 19, 1962.

Booker, 97, couldn’t speak while on the panel, so his wife Carol Booker expressed his feelings as he wrote them in his book “Shocking the Conscience: A Reporter’s Account of the Civil Rights Movement.”

“It was very controversial at the time to bring Dr. King to the press club,” Carol Booker said. “Simeon joined the special committee and he proposed that Dr. King should be invited to speak. The chairman at the time quit once the committee decided to bring King here.”

King’s lawyer and advisor, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, called into the program from California to provide insight on the historic speech and why he had reservations.

“I had a rather cynical attitude toward his planned appearance,” Jones said. “I called up Louis Martin, the highest ranking black in the Democratic party at the time, and said why has it taken so long to get King here. He said that’s what I am asking you.”

Jones asserted that he wanted King to take a much harsher position then what had been planned, but King said no.

Although the Press Club didn’t use video to record guest speakers at that time, members were able to recover a short video clip of King stating the plight of the Negro in America: “To outline the problem is to chart the course of the Negro freedom movement. We have come to the day when a piece of freedom is not enough for us as human beings, nor for the nation of which we are part. We have been given pieces, but unlike bread, a slice of which does diminish hunger, a piece of liberty no longer suffices. Freedom is like life.

You cannot be given life in installments. You cannot be given breath but no body, nor a heart but no blood vessels. Freedom is one thing. You have it all or you are not free. And our goal is freedom.”

Jones said that King thought the presentation went over very well.

“Some of our friends had difficulty when we talk about matters publicly that they’re embarrassed to here,” he said. “But King was pleased. I don’t think he was embarrassed in any way. He said, ‘They didn’t boo me. I got an applause.’”

To access King’s full speech, go to press.org/mlk.

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5 The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a speech to a large crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington in 1963. / WI File Photo A powerful legacy

inspires

every dreamer to

dream big

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to making the world a better place for us all. At AARP, we are committed to ensuring that every generation has the power to advance the legacy of Dr. King to realize their dreams and reach their full potential.

See the resources, tips and tools available at aarp.org/blackcommunity.

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

“We invite all Americans to honor the legacy of Dr. King in a national park.”

Jonathan B. Jarvis National Park Service Director

King Celebrations On Tap In District

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer The National Park Service in Northwest is rolling out its annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemorations that allows just about everyone in and around the District to participate.

On Monday, Jan. 18 the park service kicked of “16 days in ’16” where all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission.

The waiver includes entrance, commercial tour and transportation fees.

Officials said parks across the country are offering programs and special events that reflect the life and legacy of King, the civil rights icon who was killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

“Make it a day on, not a day off,” parks officials said in a news release.

They’re encouraging residents to donate items to a coat and food drive, plant flower beds, repair trails, roll seed balls, dig a trench or simply join a cleanup.

“We invite all Americans to honor the legacy of Dr. King in a national park,” National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said in a news release. “Attend a special event, take part in a volunteer project, or visit a site with a direct connection to this great leader. We are all encouraged to remember the values of service and commitment to community that Dr. King exemplified throughout his life. Let’s make this holiday truly a day on, not a day off.”

Each year, the nation observes King’s birthday on the third Monday in January.

A minister and civil-rights activist, biography.com notes that King had a seismic

impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s.

Among many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Council to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches.

They would help conduct non-violent protests to promote civil rights reform. King’s participation in the organization gave him a base of operation throughout the South, as well as a national platform.

The organization felt the best place to start to give African Americans a voice was to enfranchise them in the voting process.

In February 1958, the SCLC sponsored more than 20 mass meetings in key southern cities to register black voters in the South. King met with religious and civil rights leaders and lectured all over the country on race-related issues.

Through his activism, King played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Born on Jan. 15, 1929, King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors.

Decades after his assassination, King continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, “I Have a Dream,” which was the pinnacle of the famed March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The District plans several celebrations, which are expected to formally be announced this week.

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

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CELEBRATE the life and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

DMV’s DJ Young Music Joins T.I. in King Tribute Talented Youth Continues to Broaden His Brand

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor Dreaming big and then working hard to make those dreams come true might be one way to describe 19-year-old Bernard Brooks III, a rising, local star known as DJ Young Music whose accomplishments as a songwriter, deejay and producer far exceed his age.

Last Friday, Jan. 15, he joined rap star T.I. in a tribute concert honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – kicking off festivities in the Greater Washington Area that celebrated the life and legacy of the civil rights icon.

Since he purchased his first turntable over seven years ago, he’s honed his skills, thrown caution to the wind and has successfully taken his talents across the U.S. and even to the Caribbean, all while working with and earning the respect of some of the music industry’s biggest stars of hip-hop.

But how does he do it? How does he keep the music playing?

And what keeps a teenager just a year out of high school working at such a fast and furious pace?

“I don’t really worry about what others are doing – I like to turn things up,” he said. “And I don’t really see any real competition out here. I mean, there’s no one my age on so many radio stations. At the end of the day, it’s every man for himself,” said the Prince George’s County, Maryland resident.

A year ago, after receiving his high school degree, DJ Young Music really pushed the envelope, taking his song “Right Here” – the lead single from his mixtape “Something for the Streets, Vol. 2 – to #2 in the country – and going on the road with Chris Brown.

After striking a deal with NSUC Entertainment Group/Entertainment One Distribution, last year, he expanded his reach in the industry, releasing music and soundtracks of developing artists

under his own label [DYMG Entertainment. I’m grounded and focused because I have a motive in mind: money,” he said. “You have to plan carefully so you can figure out how to get that money. I have a team of people who are dependent on me. It’s not just being an artist. Now I’ve evolved – I’m a producer and a businessman, working with talents like Shade Jennifer, 18, who I discovered and who’s on my label.”

Another young talent, Justin Caine, 20, also from Maryland, recently joined the DJ Young Music team as an artist and in-house producer where he represents the label, does mixing and mastering and helps create beats for the label’s growing stable of artists.

But DJ Young Music isn’t the only one in the family with creative talent. His younger brother Bjorn Brooks, 17, can be heard regularly hosting his own talk show on XM Urban View and has developed a clothing line (www.Bjornsnation.com) that encourages being both creative and different – both seen as strengths from his perspective.

What’s even more remarkable about Bjorn is he’s legally blind – sometimes only able to see shapes and shadows. But like his older brother, he refuses to let anything stand in the way of his dreams.

DJ Young Music appears to be like a magnet, drawing all kinds of talented youth to his camp.

“Since Ginuwine gave me my first shot I’ve taken full advantage of every opportunity,” he said. “Now I’m trying to do the same thing for others. But it’s always first about spinning live wherever I can, developing original music and bringing new mixes to the table. My dad [Bernard Brooks] taught us how to be businessmen like him.

And my general manager, Ed Strickland, keeps my business growing and thriving. Working hard is fun – when you’re doing something you love,” he added.

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Bernard Brooks III, a rising, local star known as DJ Young Music.

5 The Stone of Hope at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial National Memorial

The Memorial Foundation – Builders of The Martin Luther King Jr Memorial The Foundation championed the vision of a memorial in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that captured the essence of his message, which so eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream—Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All. The Foundation was instrumental in the fundraising that resulted in the completion of the MLK Memorial.

Subsequently, The Foundation has actively promoted activities at the Memorial as well as education programs and opportunities for the meaningful exchange of ideas about democracy, justice, hope, and love. The Memorial Foundation’s educational programs include the: • Kids for the Memorial, which provides teachers, parents, and youth leaders of children in the 3rd through 8th grades with on-line and printed curriculum about the Memorial and its tenets of democracy, justice, hope, and love.

• Dream Keepers, which is targeted for young adults in the 9th grade through college using social media and internships to fully engage them in causes that advance the American Dream for all.

• Leaders of Democracy, which provides a network of individuals who are leaders in business and communities via social media and face-to-face events to share ideas and partner to carry the legacy of the Memorial throughout the world.

The Foundation provides leadership for maintaining the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and remains committed to his tenets by honoring a diverse group of individuals who have made significant advancements promoting human rights and democracy, justice, hope, and love. The Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of this visionary dreamer and advancing his dream to reality for all.

If you wish to donate to The Memorial Foundation please contact us at: 633 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20004 (202) 737-5420 http://thememorialfoundation.org

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

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MAKE A CAREER OF HUMANITY. COMMIT YOURSELF TO THE NOBLE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS. YOU WILL MAKE A GREATER PERSON OF YOURSELF, A GREATER NATION OF YOUR COUNTRY, AND A FINER WORLD TO LIVE IN. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 1959

WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THOSE WHO FORGED THE PATH TO FREEDOM? Martin Luther King, Jr.. Carter G. Woodson. Frederick Douglass. Mary McLeod Bethune.

These are just a few of the many African-Americans who helped forge the path to civil rights, freedom and equality, and who are commemorated in many of the historical sites in our own backyard. The DC Lottery salutes our heroes.

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

HUNDREDS CAME OUT to watch and participate in the 10th annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade in Southeast on Monday, Jan. 18. The Ballou Senior High School marching band dazzled the crowd during their performance. The AFL-CIO had a large group of marchers on the nearly two-mile walk from St. Elizabeths RISE Center in Congress Heights to the reviewing stand at the end of the parade route in Bellevue. Malcolm X Elementary School drum band showcased their skills in the parade and the Muslims for Peace carried its banner. / Photos by Shevry Lassiter, Roy Lewis and Patricia Little

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

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THE WREATH LAYING CEREMONY at the MLK Memorial in Southwest on Monday, Jan. 18 honoring the life and legacy of the slain civil rights leader. Guests gathered early in the morning with temperatures hovering below freezing for the wreath laying processional during the fifth annual Martin Luther King, Jr. day of reflection and service. A mime performance was one of the featured acts at the Anacostia Museum’s MLK program on Friday, Jan. 15. Across the border in Maryland, poster presentations by Jahrell Kearney of Dwight Eisenhower Middle School in Laurel and Jenny Pham of Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, and a performance by the Kingsford Elementary School Chorus were all part of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association’s annual MLK program at Kingsford Elementary in Mitchellville on Thursday, Jan. 14. / Photos by Patricia Little, Roy Lewis, and Robert Roberts

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

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Catering Service MLK Roots Runs Deep The Gist Family Provides Lunch for Annual Parade that now is the right time for a bigger dream.

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5 Yvonne Gist, owner of Gist Family Catering provided a southern-style meal with baked desserts for volunteers participating in the MLK Peace Walk and Parade at Living Word Church in Southwest on Monday, Jan 18. / Photo

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I retired and took over the business. I want people to know we are still here,” she said.

Yvonne feels that by participating as the caterer for the annual parade she contributes to keeping King’s memory alive.

A couple of years ago when Arena Stage in Southwest put on the show “Mountain Top” about King’s life, Yvonne protested its showing.

“It was only three of us, but we went out and picketed. I didn’t like the way they portrayed him with the cursing, cigarettes and womanizing,” she said. “All the work that he has done and you’re going to disparage him. Not on my watch.” WI AD CODE: BLEED SIZE: PUB:

The matriarch of the Gist Family Catering Service honored Martin Luther King Jr. long before providing lunch at the annual peace walk and parade in Southeast.

“Martin Luther King was dear to my heart. When I was in tenth grade, I wrote a paper on him and he autographed it,” Yvonne Gist said.

She contends that she always has been a supporter of King’s life and for what he stood for.

“When Stevie Wonder marched for King to become a holiday I marched too,” she said. “I also petitioned for the holiday.”

Yvonne’s late husband, Willie James Gist, migrated from Chester, South Carolina, and she from Buffalo, New York, to Washington, D.C., where they met at Emerson’s Steakhouse.

“He was the head cook and I was a cashier. We met in 1972 and married in 1973,” she said.

Willie Gist enjoyed a 30year career in the food service industry working his way up from bus boy to chef at places such as Beefsteak Charlie’s and Wendy’s.

“He was a great cook who loved to entertain [and] who got his passion for cooking from his mother and aunt,” she said. “When he came to me and said he wanted to start a catering business I was fully supportive. We decided we would do it after I finished college.”

In 1988, the Gist Family Catering Service officially launched taking on its first regular clients, Africare and the National Council of Negro Women.

In February 2009, Gist transitioned leaving the family business to his wife.

“In 2010, after 30 years of working at the Census Bureau,

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

NAN Host Breakfast Honoring the Legacy of MLK 20 Years Since the First MLK Observance

By Rachel Sudduth WI Contributing Writer From confronting racism in the late 1960s by joining the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to becoming the founder and president of the National Action Network, Rev. Al Sharpton continues to remain an influential political activist while honoring icons of the past.

“We are celebrating King Day, but we are not celebratory of these times,” Sharpton said.

As the introductory speaker at NAN’s breakfast on Martin Luther King Holiday, Jan. 18, Sharpton addressed the concern of the collective con-

sciousness of America.

“We have given further seats to those that want to turn back the clock,” Sharpton said as he stood at the podium, glancing at the crowd in the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest. “You can turn back the clock, but you can’t turn back the time.”

He commended Fannie Lou Hamer and Jesse Jackson for their activism as influential figures along side Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s.

Sharpton also lauded President Obama as the “best president I’ve seen,” and he remains optimistic in his leadership of the United States.

Members of NAN said they began planning for the

annual Breakfast six months in advance. This year’s sponsors included Macys, Uber and PepsiCo. Dominic Hawkins, a member of NAN, said the MLK holiday along with his work with the organization holds a special place in his life.

“Being involved with NAN and continuing work that has been done touches an important part of my childhood, continuing the legacy of my parents,” Hawkins said.

The Breakfast also honored keynote speaker, former US Attorney General Eric Holder. He promises he would never leave the work behind from his previous designation.

“If we persevere and stay

G E T YO U R T I C K E TS N OW

5PepsiCo Executive Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Tony West and the Rev. Al Sharpton present former Attorney General Eric H. Holder with a “Lifetime of Service” award at National Action Network’s annual MLK breakfast held at the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest on Monday, Jan. 18. / Photo by Travis Riddick

90th ANNUAL ASALH Black History Luncheon

dedicated we will get to the place Dr. King talked about,” Holder said. He continued explaining the need to prepare a future for younger generations.

“Unless we are willing to confront these issues, we won’t ever make progress.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., known for his active civil rights participation, non-violence approach, and moving speeches brought together people from all races and ethnic backgrounds.

Honorable Attorney General of the US Department of Justice, Loretta Lynch noted the infamous letter Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham jail. King’s Letters from Birmingham has been translated in over 40 languages and remains a world-renowned piece of literature.

Many of the honorees discussed the desire to end the “prison to school pipeline” in the United States. With the increase of juveniles given adult sentences, voting disenfranchisement, and lack of prison education programs, more ex-convicts are vulnerable to

the cycle of going back and fourth to prison.

“More than 600,000 prisoners coming out of prison each year,” Lynch said. “Some people look at it as a number, but they are mothers and fathers, friends and family.”

NAN presented the deceased Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, a Charleston Nine victim, with the MLK Day Merit Award. Pinckney’s wife, Jennifer said she will never forget the day of her husband’s death and his peaceful spirit.

“He lived life like Martin Luther King, he was a preacher and a teacher,” Pinckney said.

“He was about service, peace, and taking action.”

A guest at the NAN breakfast, David Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative On Educational Excellence for African Americans said MLK Day should be remembered throughout the year.

“MLK Day and Black History Month are a reminder to the country to continue service all year round,” Johns said.

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SUPPLEMENT

Khalil Gibran Muhammad Keynotes MLK Program He Likens Black Lives Matter to SNCC

By Sarafina Wright WI Staff Writer @dreamersexpress The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum annual Martin Luther King Jr. program featured a prominent library executive under the theme “Looking Back, Moving Forward.”

Keynote speaker Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, delivered a speech entitled “The Creative Minority of the Concerned” to honor King’s legacy Friday, Jan. 15 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Northwest.

“Dr. King knew that it was plenty men of the cloth who weren’t going along with the cause,” Muhammad said. “It’s easy to look back now and say that everybody was a part of the movement.”

“We need to keep that in mind about our young people in Dream Defenders, Black Youth Project and Hands Up Don’t Shoot,” he added. “If you don’t know these organizations,

you’re missing out on the SNCC, CORE and the Albany Movement of today.”

Muhammad went on to make the point that the social activism work being done since the murder of Trayvon Martin has the same spirit as a young John Lewis and Diane Nash.

“From the community, college campuses and back we have seen young people rise up,” he said.

“Y’all will sleep on this movement like so many slept on them in their day.”

Muhammad asserts that King knew that many of his ideas weren’t ordinary.

“In 1952, he wrote a love letter to his sweetheart. In it he wrote I am not a conventional Baptist preacher,” Muhammad said. “It is not enough to save souls, we must change minds.”

“My father is a capitalist, I am not concerned with things,” Muhammad said while reading King’s letter to Coretta Scott King.

“In 1962, he wrote in the Amsterdam News that the church can make it clear that the negro isn’t inherently criminal,”

5 Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York, and Richard Reyes-Galivan, executive director of the D.C. Public Library, discuss King’s life and the impact on civil rights for all people at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. program Friday, Jan. 15 in Northwest. / Photo by Roy Lewis Muhammad said. “Poverty and ignorance breed crime.”

“The church must develop an action program, where ever there are injustices the church must take a stand,” he said while reading King’s words from the Amsterdam News.

Muhammad first began to research King’s life while in college when he realized he wouldn’t be

Fisk Jubilee Singers Honor MLK

5 The Fisk Jubilee Singers performed Negro spirituals at the National Gallery of Art in Northwest on Sunday, Jan. 17, to raise funds for Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. / Photos by Roy Lewis 4 Paul T. Kwami, musical director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, greets the audience and talks about the effort to raise funds for Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, at a concert held at the National Gallery of Art in Northwest on Sunday, Jan. 17.

able to debate a columnist who made disparaging remarks about King.

“I was asked to debate the guy who said King was a fraud, communist and he wanted to take white people’s money and give it to black people, but in that moment I felt the most vulnerable because I didn’t know enough about him,” he said. “I

think about groups like Black Lives Matter where they are, and where I wasn’t.”

Muhammad insists that the organizing being done by young people in this era should be viewed as history repeating itself and that King would be proud.

“He left us with a blueprint,” he said. “It is up to us to do something with it.” WI

By Sarafina Wright WI Staff Writer @dreamersexpress The historic vocal ensemble Fisk Jubilee Singers performed a free concert on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday to honor the civil rights icon.

The a cappella group, consisting of students from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, performed a number of negro spirituals on Sunday, Jan. 17 in the West Garden Court of the National Gallery of Art in Northwest.

The Negro spirituals the group performs were originally sung by slaves prior to the Civil War. The first ensemble of singers, organized in 1871, arranged the music and toured to raise funds for their financially troubled school by giving concerts.

They introduced the public to the power of spirituals, the religious anthems of those living in slavery –a genre that remains a relevant musical tradition today.

Among their many awards and achievements are two Grammy nominations; the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honor for artists and patrons of the arts; Dove Award and an induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Their awards also include the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the National Arts Club of New York, the Governor’s Award, the Recording Academy Honors and the Heritage Award of the Nashville Music Awards.

In February 1978, Fisk University’s campus received designation as a National Historic District in recognition of its architectural, historic and cultural significance.

In 2007, Fisk Jubilee Singers participated in the State Department celebration of the 50th Independence Anniversary of Ghana, which came to be known as the sacred journey.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers continue the tradition of singing Negro spirituals around the world, allowing others to share in the rich culture while preserving the unique music reflective of the African-American experience. WI

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Comcast® celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by honoring his strength to love — even when the law was against him. On this day, we remind everyone of the power of love and serving one another.

Personality rights and copyrights of Dr. King are used with the permission of The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. Represented by Corbis. © 2016 Comcast. All rights reserved.

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STRONG FOUNDATION Today, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., a true champion of humanity and equal rights. Diversity and inclusion and community engagement are core pillars of our value system, and reflect Dr. King's vision and leadership. In developing our world-class resort, we understand it requires building on the diversity that reflects a global community.

MGM National Harbor salutes the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and is proud to honor his dream.

Building Excitement.

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