Organizers of MLK Day celebration, A Day On, pivot again
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Jan. 16—PLATTSBURGH — Lakita Washington is the new chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee in Plattsburgh.
She became active on the committee in 2018.
"My family has had strong ties in this community, and me being a woman of color, raising a child of color, I think it's extremely important for my daughter to see me being active in the community and affecting change," she said.
Committee members include Brett Carpenter, Jackie Madison, Holly Newell, Stan Ransom (secretary) and Janis Tobin.
The committee's 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, produced by Mountain Lake PBS, is a repeat of last year's program.
"Because of all of the Covid stuff, we couldn't run the regular program," Washington said.
"We are rebroadcasting last year's celebration that we put together, but Senator (Daniel) Stec sent us a video in and so we added that to it," said Will Houle, Mountain Lake executive producer.
"This will air on Mountain Lake PBS on Monday, January 17, Martin Luther King Day, at 2 p.m."
In 2021 in the midst of pandemic before vaccinations, the station had a lot of remote videos done and others sent in.
"We were able to go to the Newman Center and do some stuff in person," Houle said.
"We were able to film some messages from Alex Enyedi, the president of SUNY Plattsburgh, Michael Cashman, Chris Rosenquest, Billy Jones, Nicole Hylton-Patterson, director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative as well as a musical performance by Dexter Criss and Michelle Cromwell. They sang 'Lift Every Voice and Sing.'"
COMMUNITY EFFORT
Kayden Washington recites a poem dedicated to King.
Tobin leads the Community Pledge.
There are three speeches by local students, recipients of the committee's annual scholarship program.
Bishop Don Ray of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church gave the benediction.
"What was very cool, Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir, they actually sent in a video and we used that in it as well," Houle said.
"They recorded a performance. Everybody had their own phones and iPads recording, so we had a bunch of different camera angels from everyone in the choir singing. We used that as a separate performance as well. The chair of the commission, Holly Heller-Ross, she kind of led everything off and introduce it. She's the first speaker that we see on camera."
'KEEP YOUR HEART OPEN'
Not only is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday, it's recognized as a national of service.
"With the mantra of 'A Day On, Not A Day off,'" Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman said.
"For a considerable amount of time, a group of citizens have gathered at Trinity Soup Kitchen to participate in a community service project by cleaning the facility and getting it organized."
Due to COIVD 19 and the uptick in the local infection rate, the project was canceled for the second year in a row.
"In both years, we have reminded people is that community service can come in many forms and many demonstrations. We encourage individuals to consider making a donation to a nonprofit, to drop off some food in one of the number of food banks locally or at one of the drop-off sites at say at your local food marker, to keep your heart open all year long. Not just one day."
Email Robin Caudell:
Twitter:@RobinCaudell
