The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Martin Luther King Celebration will be an unforgettable evening!

BY PAUL JUNOR

The annual Martin Luther King Awards is a signature event that many look forward to as it celebrates the life and legacy of the founder of the civil rights movement. It is a welcome start to the New Year in January each year. The 2024 celebration will be held on Saturday, January 13^th, at the Canada Event Centre located at Canada Christian College in Whitby, Ontario.

The theme for the event is, “Breaking Barriers Continuing the Journey.” This theme is a fitting one as it highlights the significance of this iconic civil rights African-American leader.

Pauline Christian, President of the Educational Foundation for Children’s Care Canada (EFCCC) has served as the Executive Producer of the MLK Celebration

Since its inception. She posted a message on Friday, December 8^th, in preparation for the 25^th MLK celebration. “Over the last quarter of a century, this event has played a pivotal role in bringing communities together and creating a platform to engage the powers that be to move the dial forward on the BIPOC agenda. We must not ease off the gas pedal on the equality issue until the arc bends toward justice. According to Dr. King, ‘The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

I interviewed Pauline on Wednesday, December 27^th, 2023, regarding the upcoming MLK Celebration. She is excited to be part of the team of committed volunteers who are responsible for organizing and planning this annual event. Many of the committee members are part of EFCCC along with other individuals from the Black community. Pauline shared with me the early beginning of the MLK Celebration when she served as the President of the Metro Toronto East Youth Federation. The recently launched website: mlkconnexus.com described her as being, “Fueled by a fervent desire to instigate positive change in the community, especially among youth,” which resulted in her “Embarking on a journey to create a platform that would transcend boundaries and inspire activism.”

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Pauline was inspired to celebrate the selfless contributions of Dr. King after hearing an announcement on the radio about his upcoming birthday in December 1998. After reaching out to her Youth Director regarding hosting a celebratory event to honour Dr. King, she was met with skepticism about the possibility of the event occurring in January given the limited time. Her persistence paid off and the first MLK Celebration took place at Toronto East Church on Pape Avenue with over 1,000 individuals in attendance in January of 1999.

Pauline is happy to have the wider support of the: Black, African, and Caribbean as well as the multicultural communities of Canada. She affirms that Dr. King’s work focuses on the common humanity of all people, transcending: racial, cultural, religious and national boundaries. She is excited by the support that she has received over the years from the Toronto Dominion Bank, which is the longest contributing Title sponsor as well as other foundational supporters.

Dr. Abraham Jules (President of the Northeastern Conference of the SDA) is the keynote speaker. The headliner will be the Voices of Triumph (VOT) hailing from Oakwood University in the USA. There will be performances by the Tyndale Community Choir, CAA Band and Choir, Kingsway College Orchestra, the MLK Anniversary Litaneers, Children Youth Dance Theatre, Crawford Academy Steel Pan, Nadine Williams and MUZIKLIKE.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite for $20, for adults and $10 for children over eight, while those under eight years old are free.

Anyone interested in learning about the Martin Luther King Awards can check:

Website:www.https://MLKCONNEXUS.com or www.EFCCC.CA

Youtube:MLKCONNEXUS

Facebook:#MLKConnexUS

Instagram:mlkconnexus