NEWARK HOST THE 37TH ANNUAL “SING IN PRAISE OF KING” MONDAY, JANUARY 27, AT 7 P.M, AT NEWARK SYMPHONY HALL

Mayor Ras J. Baraka and other dignitaries will host the City of Newark’s 37^th Annual “Sing in Praise of King” on Monday, January 27, at 7 p.m., in Newark Symphony Hall. Symphony Hall is located at 1020 Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson Boulevard in downtown Newark. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

For more than three decades, this yearly observance celebrates Newark’s singular relationship to, and reverence for, Martin Luther King Jr., drawing large audiences to honor his life and legacy with powerful oratory, musical performances, and songs of praise.

Keynote speakers have included Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker/director Forest Whitaker, singer-actor-activist Harry Belafonte, activist Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson, Princeton University Professor and author Dr. Cornel West, and the youngest child of Dr. King, Reverend Bernice King.

Shortly before his assassination, Dr. King delivered one of his final speeches at South Side (now Malcolm X Shabazz) High School. In 2014, City Hall’s Lower Level Rotunda installed a memorial to Dr. King and his Newark visit, and his mission and message continue to impact the City of Newark, and the State of New Jersey in general.

This year’s observance will feature a dynamic conversation between Mayor Baraka and two prominent women at the pinnacle of politics and policy rooted in justice, progress, and prosperity:ghts and transformative change agent LaTosha Brown and presidential strategist and press secretary, author, global human ri and MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend.

Newark native and Essex County Commissioner A’Dorian Murray will open the evening’s program, followed by gun control, feminism, and Black Lives Matter activist Tamika Mallory, who will introduce the discussion. Kierra Sheard-Kelly and the Voices of Judah gospel choir will provide musical highlights. This event is open to the general public, but seating is limited. 

To obtain FREE tickets, visit the Newark Symphony Hall Box Office on Monday, January 27, from 5 p.m. until show time.