Mayor Ras J. Baraka and other dignitaries will celebrate the City of Newark’s 33rdannual “Sing in Praise of King” observance on Monday, January 18, at 8 p.m. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire observance will be “virtual,” and can be viewed on the city’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CityofNewark, or on its Government Access TV stations, Channel 78 (Altice), or Channel 28 (FIOS).
The City of Newark has been celebrating the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for more than three decades. Each year the Newark observance draws large audiences. They celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King with songs of praise, musical performances, and powerful oratory. Keynote speakers have included Academy Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker/Director Forest Whitaker, singer-actor-activist Harry Belafonte, activist Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson, Princeton University Professor and Author Dr. Cornel West, and the youngest child of Dr. King, Reverend Bernice King.
Dr. King continues to have a massive impact on the City of Newark and New Jersey in general. Dr. King delivered one of his final speeches before his tragic death at South Side (new Malcolm X Shabazz) High School. City Hall’s Lower-Level Rotunda was renovated in 2014 to serve as a memorial to Dr. King and his Newark visit.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Reverend Dr. William Barber, who is the President & Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival; Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries; Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary; Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the author of four books. In addition, he is also the architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement that gained national acclaim with its Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly in 2013.
These weekly actions drew tens of thousands of North Carolinians and other moral witnesses to the state legislature. More than 1,200 peaceful protesters were arrested, handcuffed, and jailed. On September 12, 2016, Rev. Dr. Barber led a “Moral Day of Action,” the largest coordinated action on state capitals in U.S. history, calling for state governments to embrace a moral public policy agenda.
There will be special musical performances by Charles Butler & Trinity, Washington, D.C. native Charles Butler is a music teacher and director, as well as a vocalist and leader of the Stellar Award-nominated group Charles Butler& Trinity. With Trinity, Mr.Butler sought to raise the standard for contemporary gospel community choirs.
They will share the virtual stage with Kierra Sheard,an American gospel singer, songwriter, fashion designer, actress, entrepreneur, and creative director. Her hit single “You Don’t Know” was inspired by her mother, noted gospel singer Karen Clark Sheard, almost losing her life to a fatal blood clot.