From the South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race:
The South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race will hold its 15th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance on Monday, January 18, 2016 at 2:00 pm, hosted by Congregation Beth El, 222 Irvington Avenue, South Orange, New Jersey. First Presbyterian & Trinity Church of South Orange is co-hosting with Congregation Beth El. The event is free and open to all.
The featured speaker at this year’s observance is Michelle Miller, an award-winning CBS News Correspondent based in New York. Ms. Miller’s work has included extensive coverage of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of Michael Brown, and of hurricanes Sandy, Irene and Katrina, as well as many civil rights-related stories. She won a national Emmy award in 2015 for her multi-platform series following a group of high school dropouts trying to turn their lives around at the National Guard’s Sunburst Youth Challenge. The series was prominently featured on the “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley.”
Miller has also been honored with a Radio and Television News Directors Association’s Edward R. Murrow Award and two National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence awards. She was voted Woman of the Year by the National Sports Foundation. Ms. Miller is a resident of South Orange, with her husband Marc Morial and two children.
The celebration will also include music by Voices in Harmony and the Bufford School of Music Faculty Band, and a performance by Columbia High School Special Dance. A cross-section of the faith and youth communities will lead an affirmation of Dr. King’s call to action and service.
A reception and fellowship will follow, along with opportunities for members of the community to follow that call. A Volunteer Fair will offer information and opportunities from local community groups, including those housing and feeding the poor; and mentoring and tutoring our youth. There will also be projects with instant impact that can be completed right then and there. Food pantry donations are encouraged and welcome.
As in prior years, the Celebration is sure to be meaningful, inspirational, and attended by hundreds of residents and neighbors.
For the 3rd year the Coalition is also sponsoring the Luminary Project: we envision 1,000 homes across the Two Towns alight with outdoor luminaries as a sign of peace and solidarity with Dr. King’s vision of the beloved community.
For more information, please see the Community Coalition’s website at www.twotowns.org or contact Audrey Rowe at 973-761-6116, X4.
