Event to honor Martin Luther King

BANGOR – A video showing the early days of the American civil rights movement, a singalong with Joan Baez-style freedom songs, a potluck buffet and a panel discussion on diversity are among the activities slated for Sunday, Jan. 14, honoring the birthday of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The commemoration will take place at the Peace & Justice Center at 170 Park St. The event is free to the public.

The event will kick off at 5 p.m. with the community-style potluck, followed at 6 p.m. by a singalong of freedom folk songs led by Rabbi Larry Milder.

At 6:30 p.m. there will be a viewing of classic documentary footage contained in the video “The Freedom Train,” which shows early footage of the workings of the National Negro Labor Committee, an organization that pioneered the civil rights movement and worked to improve, among other things, the labor conditions of blacks.

After the video, there will be a panel discussion by leading community activists titled “Building the Civil Rights Movement Today”.

Panelists include Suzanne Brunner, former co-chair of Maine’s executive committee of the ballot initiative Yes on 6; John Hanson, director of the Bureau of Labor Education at the University of Maine; Angel Loredo, associate dean of students and cultural life at UMaine; Sherry Mitchell, Diversity and Communities of Children consultant; and Yvonne Roland, director of multicultural programs, UMaine.

Some of the topics to be addressed are: gay and lesbian rights in Maine today; hate crimes; discrimination issues for people of color; and “invisible” discrimination issues.

At 6:30 p.m. a children’s program of stories that feature content about the civil rights movement will be coordinated by the Bangor Unitarian/Universalist Youth Group during the film and panel discussion.

The Peace & Justice Center is home to such groups as the Maine chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Native Forest Network, Pine Tree Folk School, Children’s International Service Village (a youth exchange group), the Maine Green Party and the Maine Global Action Network, among others.

The center features a monthly video event. Other yearly events include an Earth Week celebration that includes about 1,500 people and 65 action groups and a harvest celebration in October. The center invites people to bring a covered dish to the event, and asks that the dish be labeled with ingredients for people with food sensitivities.

For more information about the event or the center’s other programs, call Ilze Petersons at 942-9343.