Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Program on January 24

Essex County College’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Program will be held on Tuesday, January 24, at 10 a.m. in Smith Hall. The event is under the direction of the College’s Africana Institute and the Center for Global Education and Experiences (CGEE), in partnership with the African Consul Generals Group (ACGG) in New York. 

“The Africana Institute hosts this event annually to pay tribute to the vast African American contributions in the struggles for freedom, equality, and justice in American society. Those efforts brought changes like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This event honors the heroes and heroines of the 1950s and 1960s,” said Dr. Akil Khalfani, Director of the Africana Institute and the CGEE.     

This event will feature remarks by the eight Consul Generals, said Dr. Khalfani. “We aim to celebrate the international impact of the ideals of Dr. King by including African Consul Generals. Dr. King’s strivings represented a synthesis of the echoes of thousands of African Americans fighting to be treated humanely, “he stated.

The participating Ambassadors are:

Amb. Dr. Motumisi Tawana, South Africa, Chair ACGG

Amb. El Hadji Amadou Ndao, Senegal, Alternate Chair ACGG

Amb. Brahim Chennouf, Algeria

Amb. Augusta Mangueira, Angola

Amb. Nathaniel Wreh Nagbe, I, Liberia

Amb. Abdelkader Jamoussi, Morocco

Amb. Lot Egopija, Nigeria

Deputy C.G., Mr. Mohammad Elhalawani, Egypt

Dr. Khalfani said that people will have the opportunity to meet with the Consul Generals in country-specific break-out rooms at the College to discuss Consulate Services that they would usually need an appointment in New York to do.

Ikenna Obikulu, an 11-year-old formerly from Orange, will portray Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he gives the “I Have a Dream” speech.