Friday, January 16, 2009

Annual Detroit Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Rally & March Set For January 19, Noon at Central United Methodist Church

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory For Detroit MLK Day 2009

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Friends- Volunteers for the Detroit MLK Day rally and march are needed. Come to Central United Methodist Church, Woodward at East Adams, downtown, between 9 and 10 AM to get an assignment to make everything move smoothly beginning at Noon for this important program. - David Sole,
Phone: 313.680.5508.
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Detroit MLK Day Rally & March at Central United Methodist Church, Mon., Jan. 19, 2009, Rally at Noon
Woodward Avenue at East Adams, March at 1:30 p.m.

Keynote: Prof. Gloria Aneb House, Veteran Civil Rights Activist, Director of African-American Studies
University of Michigan at Dearborn

Special Guest Speaker- Mr. Osama Siblani - Congress of Arab American Organizations

Performance: Renaissance High School Choral Group & Others
Contact: Detroit MLK Committee, Linda, Phone: 313.702.5558
E-mail: Abayomi Azikiwe

6th Annual Detroit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Rally & March to Focus on the Struggle for Peace and Economic Jusitce

On Monday, January 19, 2009, the federal commemoration of the 80th birthday of the late civil rights and peace activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be celebrated across the United States. This year's MLK Day rally and march in Detroit will be held at the Central United Methodist Church, located in downtown Detroit on Woodward Avenue at East Adams, beginning with a Noon rally and concluding with a march through downtown starting at 1:30 P.m.

The Detroit MLK Day Rally & March for 2009 will take on added significance with the election of the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama. Although this historical milestone has been achieved, the social efforts aimed at realizing a world without war, poverty, hunger, racism, sexism, national oppression, LGBT bigotry and economic exploitation continues.

Our keynote speaker for 2009 is Dr. Gloria Aneb House, Professor and Director of Humanities and African-American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus. Prof. House is a former member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), where she worked in the struggle alongside Dr. King, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and many others during the 1960s in Alabama.

Detroit's MLK Day Rally & March will be held under the theme of: "Economic Justice and the Continuing Struggle for Civil Rights and Peace." Young people are being encouraged to create posters that represent the legacy of Dr. King in the 21st Century. The Renaissance High School Choral will also perform at the opening rally.

In addition, there will be a "Detroit MLK Spirit of Detroit Award" given to a resident of the city who represents the current phase of the struggle to realize the dream of Dr. King and the movement that he represented.

Solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, protesting the massacre of hundreds of civilians by U.S. backed and armed Israel, will also be an important theme. Osama Siblani, editor of the Arab American News will be a special guest speaker.

For more information on the Detorit MLK Day events, just contact the numbers listed above. Admission to this event is free and open to the general public.

Contact: Abayomi Azikiwe, Media Liason
Phone: 313.671.3715

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Every inspiring rally needs an inspirational flyer. One of King's most central legacies often lost in holiday remembrances is his stance against global poverty and his encouragement for all Americans to learn about and combat it. You can download the free 2-page inspirational flyer about Martin Luther King Jr. and what he fought for in this exact regard here, then copy it and pass it out at the rally:

http://tinyurl.com/KingFlyer

Think about the global poverty statistics mentioned therein - comparing those in King's time - to those in the present and then pass it on! This would certainly be an excellent way at both honoring King's vision, and opening your own and others' eyes to the currently still dreadful state of humanity.

**Can you take to heart the words King spoke just 4 days before he was gunned down? That's what this flyer will ask you. Take the King Challenge - in his own words - and see.

You can also get the flyer by emailing the author at Angie@WhatNewsShouldBe.org

www.WhatNewsShouldBe.org