As America remembers the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., St. Louis will host a major announcement regarding the King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Harry Johnson, former St. Louisan and president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Build the Dream Foundation, will be here Friday to speak on the construction of the King memorial “on one of the most prestigious sites remaining on the Mall.”
Johnson will speak at a private news and information conference at The Skybox, 800 N. 3rd St.
Another St. Louis native, Ty Christian, who serves as King Memorial Foundation chief marketing strategist, has helped raise $90 million of the $100 million needed to complete the monument.
“We could have another announcement soon, regarding other major donations to the MLK Monument,” Christian told the American on Tuesday.
“Because of the outstanding progress and the 40th anniversary of the Dr. King’s assassination, we are hearing from other foundations that want to support the effort.”
On March 4, Hubert Hoosman, president of Vantage Credit Union in St. Louis, joined Johnson, Christian, former Secretary of State Colin Powel and a host of dignitaries in announcing a $1.2 million gift to the foundation on behalf of The African American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC).
St. Louis area remembers
St. Louis played a role in the tragic death of Dr. King.
His assailant, James Earl Ray, has relatives in the St. Louis area, visited here frequently before shooting King and has a brother here who has just published a book that says Ray is innocent.
Several memorial celebrations and politically themed events are planned for Friday and the weekend.
A New Cornerstone Inc., will honor Dr. King with the “Building on the Dream: Maintaining the Progress” weekend of events at Trinity Mt. Carmel M.B. Church, 11755 Mehl in Florissant. Following a 6 p.m. reception, a panel discussion King’s legacy begins at 7 p.m.
A series of seminars and workshops begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at the church, with partners including New Cornerstone, Barak Christian Church, Trinity Mt. Carmel, New Sunnymount M.B. Church, Fresh Start Bible Church and Better Family Life, Inc.
A rally will be held at noon Friday at St. Louis City Hall to commemorate the legacy of Dr. King. The emphasis of the rally will be the effort to recall Mayor Francis G. Slay At 7 p.m. Friday, a “unity rally” will be held at Douglass Memorial Church of God in Christ in Meacham Park.
“Dr. King struggled for justice, and there is not justice here in the city of St. Louis. We are following his clarion call that all people should be treated equally,” said Zaki Baruti, co-organizer of these events.
“This will be a black and white demonstration. It’s about all people, just as Dr. King wanted.”
Baruti said the programs are in memory of Dr. King’s assassination and the founding of the Universal African Peoples Organization on April 4, 1989. Baruti is president of the organization.
“When we get bombarded this week with all the (media coverage) about the life of Dr. King, it is equally important to remember why he was struck down before his 40th birthday,” Jamala Rogers says in her column in today’s edition of the American.
“It was not because he was non-violent. It was because he dared to raise up the questions that America still refuses to squarely face, that of race and class.”
The University of Missouri will mark the 40th anniversary of the King assassination with a memorial service at 4 p.m. Sunday at Washington Tabernacle Baptist Church, 3200 Washington.
Forrest E. Harris Sr., president of American Baptist College in Nashville, will deliver the keynote address, “A Nation with the Soul of Martin Luther King Jr.”
Dello Thedford and the Gospel Symphonic Choir will perform a musical tribute to the slain civil rights leader.
A partnership between the Student Government Associations (SGA) of Harris-Stowe State University and Saint Louis University (SLU) has requested and received a resolution from the Board of Alderman of the City of the St. Louis decreeing that the city take two minutes of silence beginning at noon on April 19, in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Memphis remembers
The national “Recommitment March” from downtown Memphis to the Lorraine Motel, site of the King assassination and home of the National Civil Rights Museum, will begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
A memorial program will be held at the museum at 5 p.m.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, who will visit the Lorraine Motel for the first time, will lead the march. Sharpton said the “Recommitment March will serve as an opportunity for people to recommit themselves to fighting for the ideals that Dr. King envisioned 40-years ago.”
He says the march will bring thousands from across the country to dedicate or rededicate themselves to lead the fight for social justice for the next 40 years.
