By Patrick Donachie
An array of events throughout southeastern Queens will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the weekend before the holiday celebrating his life this coming Monday.
“MLK 2017” will be held at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning at 161-04 Jamaica Ave. on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The event aspires to honor “the ‘remnants’ of The Dream among us” by acknowledging certain individuals in the community working to further the goals set by Dr. King during his life.
State Sen. James Sanders (D-Rochdale Village) will host a debate on the legacy of the Obama administration, asking whether it was “fruitful or fruitless” in the Black Spectrum Theatre inside Roy Wilkins Park at 2 p.m. Sunday. Sanders will be on the panel, along with Queens College Assistant Professor Deidre Owens, Dr. Alfonso Wyatt and Dr. Lessie Branch, a senior research fellow at the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College. The debate will be moderated by Dr. Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century.
Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) will hold an event at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center at 151-03 Jamaica Ave. Monday, with a keynote speech by U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica). The event will also include performances from local dance groups, according to Miller’s office.
— Reporter Patrick Donachie
