It’s your birthday. It’s your birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a lifelong activist, I celebrate you every day.
Still, I look forward to the annual smorgasbord of events. This year, I got the party started at the Riverside Church New York City where on April 4, 1967, Dr. King delivered his anti-war speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.”
The tribute honoring Dr. King featured songs and readings from his writings and speeches.
One of the most moving moments was listening to an excerpt from Dr. King’s last speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” While I’ve heard the speech numerous times, the sound system gave the words an immediacy and newness. Indeed, at times I was nodding my head and saying “Amen” as if I were in Mason Temple with Dr. King. An archived webcast of the program is available here.
I later checked out the Arthur Mitchell exhibition at Columbia University’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery.
The assassination of Dr. King inspired the legendary ballet dancer to co-found the Dance Theater of Harlem. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Mitchell shared his greatest accomplishment:
That I actually bucked society, and an art form that was three, four hundred years old and brought black people into it.
Harlem’s ballet trailblazer was a great dancer who also served the community. The free exhibit runs through March 11. For more information, visit the Wallach Art Gallery.
