Variety of events on tap as city celebrates King Day

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day will bring a variety of free celebrations and youth programs to the Valley, including two in Northampton aimed at preserving King’s message of nonviolence and getting local youth involved in the spirit of the day.

The Community Action Youth Program is hosting a free lunch and several activities aimed at students. The celebration, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at College Church on Pomeroy Terrace, will feature a performance from the Alpha Squad, a hip-hop dance group from Hampshire Heights.

“This is a program where kids can go to their own individual stations, interact with each other, and just do their own thing,” Loren Halman, the program’s community project coordinator said. “There will be a lot for them to do.”

Following the free lunch and dance performance at noon, Halman said, participants will create posters and collages based on suggested historical materials from the King era, write original songs based on protest ballads or statements made during the civil rights movement, and participate in conversations about race and equality.

Also Monday, the annual MLK Day events organized by the American Friends Service Committee kick off at 1 p.m. with a guided African-American Heritage tour starting at the Sojourner Truth statue in Florence, located at the intersection of Pine and Park streets. After the guided tour, a gathering at the First Churches on Main Street will offer readings from King’s speeches, poetry and a community dinner.

The tour, part of the AFSC’s 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebration, will be led by local resident Steve Strimer and will pass Truth’s home as well as those of other former slaves and several Underground Railroad sites.

Once back at the First Churches, beginning at 3 p.m., Program Coordinator Jeff Napolitano said eight local residents will take turns reading excerpts from King’s speech, “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam,” followed by a talk about militarism and racism.

The day will conclude in Lyman Hall with a community dinner, free and open to the public, at 5 p.m. The food will be provided by local sponsors and the AFSC.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com