National Park Service to Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday at African Burial Ground Monument, 1/15

Join the National Park Service as it celebrates the life of DR. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the African Burial Ground National Monument in Lower Manhattan on January 15, 2013. Music from the Civil Rights Movement and clips of scenes from King's life will be played throughout the day.

The highlight of the Dr. King Birthday Celebration will be an inspirational lecture and illustrative presentation at 12:00 noon by Herb Boyd. Mr. Boyd is a journalist, activist, teacher, and has authored or edited 23 books, including his most recent one, By Any Means Necessary: Malcolm X-Real, Not Reinvented, co-edited with Ron Daniels, Maulana Karenga, and Haki Madhubuti. Other recent books include Civil Rights: Yesterday & Today and Baldwin's Harlem, a biography of James Baldwin, which was a finalist for a 2009 NAACP Image Award. Among the highlights of his remarkable journalistic career was an invitation to fly on Air Force One with President Obama, whom he has interviewed on several occasions. Boyd's presentation will focus upon, "The Day Harlem Saved Dr. King's Life After a Deranged Woman Plunged a Letter Opener in His Chest."

In 1995, with Robert Allen, he was a recipient of an American Book Award for Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America -- An Anthology. We Shall Overcome, a media-fusion book with narration by the late Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, is used in classrooms all over the world, as is his Autobiography of a People and The Harlem Reader. His articles can be found in such publications as The Black Scholar, The Final Call, the Amsterdam News, Cineaste, Downbeat, and The Network Journal, among others. For more than forty years, he has taught at institutions of higher learning. Currently, Boyd is an Adjunct Professor at the City College of New York and he lives in Harlem. Also, Boyd is a national and international correspondent for Free Speech TV.org, a media company that specializes in Internet television. He has been a long-time supporter of the African Burial Ground.

After the program, Herb Boyd will sign copies of his books, Civil Rights: Yesterday & Today and Heroes of America Illustrated Lives: Martin Luther King, Jr. in the African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center. Please, do not miss this opportunity to meet Boyd and to cherish this lifetime experience. For more information about Herb Boyd, visit http://aalbc.com/authors/herb_boyd.htm.

The DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration will conclude with a showing of the film, "Never Lose Sight of Freedom" at 2:00 p.m. This 26-minute masterpiece reveals images from the historic march from Selma to Montgomery. Also, it interprets the historic Voting Rights Movement from the perspectives of those who experienced it.

African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. The memorial is open seven days a week, 9 am to 4 pm and closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

The DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration will take place at the African Burial Ground National Monument, located on the first floor of the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, close to Foley Square and just north of City Hall. Upon entering the building, members of the public will have to go through security screening.

All events are free & open to the public. For more information, call (212) 238-4367.

Photo courtesy www.aalbc.com.

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