Entertainment
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of environmental and social justice presented at festival
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Jan 14, 2010 - 11:29 AM

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is co-sponsoring the fourteenth annual two-day family festival honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy of Environmental and Social Justice. The FREE festival takes place on Sunday, January 17, 2010 from Noon to 4:30 p.m. and Monday, January 18, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven. The festival will focus on environmental and social justice, civil rights, nonviolent advocacy, health care, equality of resources and community enrichment.

The free family festival events are co-sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s Environmental Justice Program, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Citizens Bank, the Yale Office of New Haven and State Affairs, Subway and Stop & Shop.

“The DEP is proud to be a co-sponsor with the Peabody Museum at Yale for the past fourteen years and to provide educational activities, performances and interactive displays featuring the environment in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Amey Marrella, Commissioner of the DEP. “His efforts to ensure environmental and social justice for all people serves as a model for all of us, not only as individuals, but for communities as a whole.”

The two days of educational activities for families and people of all ages and backgrounds include performances by members of the New Haven community and from around the world, including music, poetry, children’s storytelling and dance.

Highlights of the celebration include:

Sunday, January 17, Noon to 4:30 pm

World Stage performances (The Great Hall of Dinosaurs):

1:00-1:30 p.m. Taikoza – Japanese drumming

2:00-2:30 p.m. African Arawak Connection

3:00-3:30 p.m. Nicki Mathis’ Afrikan Amerikan Jazz

4:00-4:30 p.m. St. Luke’s Steel Band

3rd Floor Auditorium

12:15-1:00 p.m. Alliance for Climate Education

1:00-5:00 p.m. “I am Who I Am” – Teen Diversity Workshops

Storytelling (North American Dioramas)

1:30-2:15 p.m. Joy Donaldson – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Word and Song

2:30-3:15 p.m. Waltrina Kirkland Mullins – Past & Present: We Live the Legacy!

Monday, January 18, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm

World Stage performances (The Great Hall of Dinosaurs):

11:00-11:30 a.m. Premier Jazz Ensemble

12:00-12:30 p.m. Boogie Chillun

12:45-1:00 p.m. Yale Bhangra Dance Troupe – traditional Punjabi dance performance

1:00-1:30 p.m. New Haven Break Dancers

1:40-1:50 p.m. Shades – Yale a capella group

2:00-2:30 p.m. New Haven Break Dancers

3:00-3:30 p.m. Kouffin Kanecke Company – traditional West African dance and drumming performance

3:45-4:30 p.m. Michael Mills – drumming performance and drum circle finale

3rd Floor Auditorium

11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Community Poetry Open Mic

12:45-1:15 p.m. Brian Jarawa Gray, Amistad Academy Youth Drum Ensemble

1:30-4:30 p.m. Annual Invitational Environmental and Social Justice Poetry Slam

Invited Poetry Slam Participants: Arianne Bedford, Advocate of Wordz, Afrikess, Ainsley Burrows, Akua Doku, Baub Bidon, Carlos Andres Gomez, Caroline Rothstein, Emily Carpenter, Hermina Marcellin, Jamal St.John, Kesed Ragin, Kyle Brooks, Panama Soweto, Rainmaker, RIP M.C., Safia Elhillo

Plus over 30 hands-on educational activities for families

FREE ADMISSION!

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy of Environmental Justice Family Festival has grown during the last 14 years with attendance increasing from 1,400 the first year to more than 5,000 during the 2009 celebration. Activities are for adults and children of all ages, including teens. For further information contact the Yale Peabody Museum at (203) 432-6646 or visit the website at: www.peabody.yale.edu/events/mlk

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. strove to raise awareness about urban environmental issues and public health concerns that disproportionately affect communities of color. While these issues have not disappeared in the last 40 years, progress has been made in many places to bring such inequalities to light and to improve living and working conditions.

“The Connecticut DEP is dedicated to honoring the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and legacy and is committed to addressing environmental issues and public health concerns that affect all communities. Connecticut was the first state to pass an environmental justice law that strengthens public participation for reviewing permit applications in cities and towns designated as environmental justice communities,” added Commissioner Marrella.

Environmental justice is based on the principle that all members of a society have the right to clean air, water, and soil, as well as a right to live in communities where they can raise their families in healthy and nurturing natural environments. Further, environmental justice includes a guarantee of equal access to relief and the possibility of meaningful community participation in the decisions of government and industry.

The following organizations will host Activity Areas on one or both days of the celebration:

· 4-H Youth at Work – University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension

· American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut

· Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center

· Common Ground High School

· Community Health Network of Connecticut

· Connecticut Chapter Black Caucus of the American Library

· Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice

· Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection

· Connecticut People’s World

· Elaine Peters Multimedia Performance and Crafts Artist

· EVOLUTIONS

· Experience Corps. and LEAP–AmeriCorps

· Girl Scouts of Connecticut

· Greater New Haven African–American Historical Society, Inc.

· Greater New Haven Peace Council

· National Council of Negro Women

· New Haven Health Department Bureau of Environmental Health

· New Haven Health Department Office of Emergency Preparedness

· New Haven Inner City Outings

· Peabody Crafts

· Peabody Fellows

· Peabody Membership

· Peabody On the Road

· Schooner, Inc.

· Solar Youth, Inc.

· Teachers Against Prejudice

· The Perfect Blend

· UCONN Master Gardeners, New Haven County

· USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

· WPKN

Honorary Chairs

The Honorable Martin Looney

State Senator, 11th Senatorial District

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro

Congresswoman, 3rd Congressional District

The Honorable Jim Himes

Congressman, 4th Congressional District

The Honorable Patricia Dillon

State Representative, 92nd Assembly District

The Honorable Toni E. Walker
State Representative, 93rd Assembly District

The Honorable Greg Moorehead

Alderman, 22nd Ward

Directions: In New Haven, Connecticut, take Exit 3 off Interstate 91 (either north or southbound) onto the Trumbull Street connector, and make a right turn at the second intersection onto Whitney Avenue (follow the posted signs to the Peabody Museum).

The Museum is located at 170 Whitney Avenue, at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Sachem Street, one block north of the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Trumbull Street.

Parking: Weekend parking is free in all Yale University parking lots.

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