MLK Remembered At Memorial Wreath Laying To Mark Anniversary Of Assassination
Next Step For MLK Corridor Initiative Announced
By John McNamara
NEW BRITAIN – The Mary McLeod Bethune Club, the Black Ministerial Alliance and the City of New Britain joined together on Saturday, April 8th, for the annual memorial wreath laying marking the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968.
Evelyn Newman-Phillips, Ph.D, Chair of the Anthropology Department at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), was the keynote speaker for the event attended by members of the New Britain Police and Fire Departments, elected officials, students from New Britain High School’s African American Club and residents.
Dr Newman-Phillips shared the life and legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of Bethune Cookman College. New Britain’s Mary McLeod Bethune Club was formed in 1955. In attendance on April 8th was Janice Edwards, Club President for many years, whose mother co-founded the club. Janice Edwards’ daughter, Jan Sykes, is the current Club President and made closing remarks at the wreath laying.
Rev. King was killed in Memphis where he went to mobilize support for striking sanitation workers in their efforts to unionize that led to recognition of the AFSCME union in the southern city. At the time of his death King was planning a new march on Washington and a Poor People’s campaign for economic justice.
“Dr. Ingram recalled that the location of the park, at the corner of North and Stanley streets, is “hallowed ground” for her community. It was originally the Hartford Avenue neighborhood that fell in the path of destructive urban renewal and highway building of the 1970s leading to displacement of homes and businesses.”
Students from the high school’s African American Club read poetry reflecting on Rev. King’s life and work. Bishop Tia Wilkins sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, the poem that became the Black National Anthem and other selections. Organizers said that they hoped to bring back the annual march over the Harry Truman Overpass to MLK Park as part of the ceremony in future years.
Dr. Valerie Ruby Ingram emceed the MLK program for the city, recalling the history of the King monument, MLK Park and the efforts through the years of Mary McLeod Bethune Club members to build a monument in the wake of Rev. King’s death at age 38.
Dr. Ingram recalled that the location of the park, at the corner of North and Stanley streets, is “hallowed ground” for her community. It was originally the Hartford Avenue neighborhood that fell in the path of destructive urban renewal and highway building of the 1970s leading to displacement of homes and businesses. In an historical account of Hartford Avenue from CCSU’s Center for African American Studies it is described as “a vital multiethnic neighborhood…..Only the Martin Luther King Monument stands as a symbol of past days.”
Pastor Gervais Barger of Peace Missionary Ministries and the Black Ministerial Alliance gave the invocation and announced plans this spring for the next steps for the MLK Corridor initiative . The initiative was launched in 2017 by the CT Department of Banking naming three communities with streets and boulevards named after the civil rights leader –Norwalk, Middletown and New Britain — as designated corridors that “will serve as an epicenter to help spur increased economic activity to the benefit of the community, residents and municipalities and address several of the chronic challenges that face urban areas” including housing, jobs and economic development and education.
Human Rights and Opportunities Commission Chair Angela Jessica-Julien represented the commission that is overseeing the MLK Brick Project, a naming gift program that will add and replace bricks at the site of the monument for dedication in the fall. Also participating at the wreath laying program were State Senator Rick Lopes (D-6), Alderwoman Iris Sanchez (D-3), Alderwoman Desiree Costa (R-AL), Alderman Jerrell Hargraves (R-2) and NAACP Vice President Tim O’Brien.
