Lexington CommUNITY

18th Annual CommUNITY Commemoration Report

18th Annual CommUnity Commemoration, we have viewed the film Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North.

This film chronicles a unique and disturbing journey into the history and legacy of the U.S. slave trade. The 90-minute documentary tracks what happens as filmmaker Katrina Browne comes to grips with the discovery that her New England ancestors, the Rhode Island based DeWolf family were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Her film is a probing essay into divergent versions of a nation’s history.

This is the film trailer.

 

 

Lexington to Host the 18th Annual CommUNITY Commemoration

Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sunday, January 16, 2011   1:30 – 4:00 pm

Lexington’s CommUNITY Committee is proud to host the Eighteenth Annual CommUNITY Commemoration honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, January 16^th, 2011 from 1:30 – 4:00 pm in Lexington, Massachusetts.  2011 marks the 25^th Anniversary of the first observance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday observed by all 50 states.

The CommUNITY Commemoration begins at 1:30 pm with the traditional Unity Walk from the Lexington Battle Green to Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue.  The indoor program will begin promptly at 2:00 pm.  Participants are invited to join the walk and/or attend the program at Cary Hall, which is wheelchair accessible and will be open starting at 1:30pm.  Admission is free and all are welcome.

The program on January 16^th will feature the film Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North. This film chronicles a unique and disturbing journey into the history and legacy of the U.S. slave trade. The 90-minute documentary tracks what happens as filmmaker Katrina Browne comes to grips with the discovery that her New England ancestors, the Rhode Island based DeWolf family were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Her film is a probing essay into divergent versions of a nation’s history.

Candid and compelling, Traces of the Trade challenges viewers to ask themselves the same contentious questions that Browne and her family ask ”What is my family’s relationship to slavery? What does it mean to accept responsibility for the “living consequences” of slavery? What would it take to repair black/white relationships and to move beyond the guilt, defensiveness, anger, and fear that often separate and silence us? As a nation, how do we deal with what we inherited from our country’s history?

The DeWolf descendants’ journey is at once deeply personal and also indicative of much larger social struggles. As an outreach tool, the film offers powerful new perspectives on the black/white divide. It will provide an excellent springboard for dialogue around how the legacy of slavery influences the lives of Americans of all backgrounds and generations.

Please join us for this thought provoking program featuring Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North on January 16^th. This year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. CommUNITY Commemoration event will launch a series of forums and community conversations scheduled throughout the late winter and spring to explore issues of racism and the legacy of slavery in our country, our community and ourselves   Watch for more information.

This program was created by the CommUNITY Commemoration Planning Committee

with funding support from the Lexington Coalition for Racial Equality.

For more information about this event, please contact Jill Smilow; 781-424-8775 or www.[email protected].

 

 

Please join us! Black History Month Special Film viewing & Discussion Program

The Lexington CommUNITY Group invites you to

a thought-provoking evening honoring Black History Month.

The program includes the award-winning documentary

Come Walk in My Shoes and an interactive discussion following.

 

Wednesday, March 3^rd, 2010

from 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Clark Hall at Hancock Church

1912 Massachusetts Avenue

Lexington, MA

 

Come Walk in My Shoes is an award-winning documentary that follows the Honorable John Lewis on an emotional pilgrimage to the churches, parks and bridges where young people played a pivotal role in the struggle for equality and voting rights. At each location, Lewis reflects on his experiences and provides a forum for others – the “unsung heroes who cared deeply, sacrificed much, and fought hard for a better America” – to help us understand what happened, and why.

 

“No one wanted to be chased by dogs. No one wanted to be beaten or arrested.
That was the price people paid to liberate the South.
When young people tell me that nothing has changed,

I say to them, “Come walk in my shoes!”
--- Congressman John R. Lewis (D-GA)

 

This award-winning documentary provides a fresh, first-person perspective on the non-violent protests that challenged segregation laws in the South and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Our program is designed for students, parents and teachers as well as members of the Lexington community who wish to learn more about the impact that young people, in particular, had on the civil rights protests in the South in the 1960s. At the conclusion of the film there will be a discussion and we’ll pose the question: “What choices does one makes at a time of crisis?” If you were actively involved in the Civil Rights movement and would like to share your story, please contact us.

For more information about the program, contact Jill Smilow, [email protected].

 

Regie on LexMedia's documentary news show, "All Around Lexington."

Ms. Jackie Hai produced a great documentary video for LexMedia's documentary news show, "All Around Lexington."

Here's Ms. Hai's video featuring interviews with Regie O’Hare Gibson and Todd Brunel intercut with excerpts from their work, “Letter and Spirit: A Musical and Poetic Presentation of the Words and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.” For more information, please visit Ms. Hai's blog, "Convergence Common".

Regie Gibson and Todd Brunel, on "Letter and Spirit" from Jackie Hai on Vimeo.

On the Lexington Minuteman

Our event was featured on Lexington Minuteman. You can read the article on"wickedlocal.com". There's the video clip on the site, too.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration on LexMedia

If you missed the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration event, you still have a chance to watch the event on LexMedia!

Here are the schedule.

LETV (channel 9 Comcast, 13 RCN, 36 Verizon)

01/23/2010 Saturday 10 AM

01/24/2010 Sunday 10 AM

LPTV (channel 8 comcast, 3 RCN, 35 Verizon)

01/22/2010 Friday 2:35 PM

01/23/2010 Saturday 8:30 PM

01/25/2010 Monday 4:35 PM

01/26/2010 Tuesday 4:35 PM

01/27/2010 Wednesday 4:35 PM

Lexington High School Students report the Martin Luther King, Jr. event

The contents of this report are from the Lexington High School National Honor Society students.

Please watch more videos and look at the program detail.

 

It was a afternoon of music, words, and reflection in Cary Hall this Sunday, January 17th. At this 17th annual CommUNITY commemoration, many families took time out of their hectic schedule to come  together to remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. The program featured poetry by Regie O’Hare Gibson and compositions by Todd Brunel, which not only reflected on King’s life but also on just how far we have come in terms of accepting diversity.

 
 Jill Smilow, who had the beginning remarks, reassured this sentiment in  saying that King’s “dream is closer to reality today”.

Regie O’Hare Gibson then both captivated and inspired with his “language of music”, which encompassed lyrical readings of Thoreau, Gandhi and King. Afterwards, Mr. Gibson linked King’s message to today in “When They Speak of Our Time”, an eerie warning of the societal reforms that still needed to be made and an optimistic recap of the relative peace we have to be thankful for (although much is up to interpretation). The day ended with the traditional singing of “We Shall Overcome”.
 

In the Q&A session with the artists after the performance portion of the program, audience members remarked that they felt “filled”, and the performance was “thought provoking” and “very inspirational”.
 
  Mr. Gibson said he took inspiration from King and the rich history and humanity that surrounds the man for this event.  He told that we will always need art just as we will always be trying to survive. Finally, Regie said he wants people to “see good and bad” and aims to show that message in a facet of his art. ( by Cong Zhang )

Lexington High School's National Honor Society student volunteers

The Program of 7th Annual CommUNITY Commemoration Honoring the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

January 17^th, 2010 * Cary Hall, Lexington, MA

 

The program features original words and/or music by guest performers

Regie O’Hare Gibson, Todd Brunel and Robert Rivera. Many of the featured pieces cite the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau. To read the texts from which these words were cited, refer to the bibliography which follows. All quotes as well as the bibliography were

compiled by Regie O’Hare Gibson.

 

       For quotes and this bibliography as well as information about today’s program

Bibliography

 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

“A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King.” Edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shephard

 

“The Autobiography of Martin Luther King.” Edited by Clayborne Carson

 

“Strength to Love” by MLK

 

Additional Speeches and Sermons by MLK:

 

“Letter from the Birmingham Jail”

“Midnight in the Social Hour”

“A Knock at Midnight”

 

Mohandas Gandhi:

 

“Young India, The Story of my Experiments with Truth.” (1927)

“Gandhi: Selected Writings.” Edited by Ronald Duncan

“The Wit and Wisdom of Gandhi.” Edited by Homer A Jack

 

Henry David Thoreau:

 

“Thoreau: Collected Essays and Poems” edited by Elizabeth Hall Witherell for

The Library of America. All quotes above pulled from “On Civil Disobedience”.

 

Additional Major Speeches and Essays:

 

“Slavery in Massachusetts”

“Life Without Principle”

“The John Brown Trilogy” (3 essays/speeches)

Lexington to Host the 17th Annual CommUNITY Commemoration Honoring the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Come hear Lexington's own Regie O'Hare Gibson,  winner of the 2008 Golden Pen Award, The 2008 Absolute Poetry Award and The National Poetry Slam Individual Championship.  Regie is a riveting  performer who will challenge, excite and entertain you with his engaging and electric mix of original music and words.

Lexington is proud to host the Seventeenth Annual CommUNITY Commemoration honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 2 pm Lexington, Massachusetts.  Admission is free and all are welcome.

 
This year’s program will feature Guest Artist: Writer/Poet/Musician Regie O’Hare Gibson who will perform an original piece of music and spoken word weaving the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi and Thoreau. The performance will be followed by an engaging and interactive CommUNITY Conversation. The CommUNITY Commemoration begins at 2:00 pm with the traditional Unity Walk from the Lexington Battle Green to Cary Hall,1605 Massachusetts Avenue.  The program will begin at 2:30 pm.  Participants are invited to join the walk and/or attend the program at Cary Hall, which is wheelchair accessible and will be open starting at 1:30pm.  Please join us for this thought provoking, inspirational afternoon of programming in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. This program was created by the CommUNITY Commemoration Planning Committee with support from the Lexington Coalition for Racial Equality.

Regie O’Hare Gibson: This National Poetry Slam Individual Champion, who received his MFA in Creative Writing from New England College,has performed taught and lectured at universities, theaters and various other venues in seven countries, most recently Havana, Cuba and Monfalcone, Italy where he received the 2008 Absolute Poetry Award. He’s been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and National Public Radio and has been nominated for a Boston Emmy Award for his feature on WGBH-2's Art Close-Up. He has received the Walker Scholarship for poetry from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and is a Chernin Center for the Arts Writer’s Fellow. His creative writing and poetry appears in Poetry Magazine, Harvard’s Divinity Magazine and The Iowa Review and The Good Men Project among others. His volume of poems “Storms Beneath the Skin” received the Golden Pen Award. He is the founder and artistic director of NeoN JuJu: a literary music ensemble.

Here's the sample of his performance!

Commentary: CommUNITY group reflects on nation’s path

Lexington - On Sunday, Jan. 18, we will once again gather as a community for the 16th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. CommUNITY Commemoration Event. We’ll begin on the Battle Green and march to Cary Hall for an interactive program designed to reflect upon and celebrate Dr. King’s work, the legacy he left behind and the election of Barack Obama.

With the backdrop of a presidential campaign which included a black man, two women and one of the oldest men running for the highest offices in our country, we have a lot to talk about.

One of my own observations this fall was the extraordinary range of perspectives among different members of our community. An African-American friend, who is about 20 years my senior, told me that just after Sen. Obama had secured the nomination, his grown son (a Lexington High School grad) asked him if he ever thought a black man would be elected President in his lifetime. My friend answered, “No,” and confessed he never believed a black man would be elected President in his son’s lifetime.

Many of my contemporaries were filled with a hope and fervent belief that it could happen — that as a nation, we just might be ready to look beyond race to the substance, intellect and talents of this man running for president.

Knowing how hard and how monumental a shift it would be to elect a black man to the highest office, we fought what we knew about our long history of racism in this country and allowed ourselves to believe it was a very real possibility.

For my children, who study in their classrooms, play sports on the playing fields of Lexington and sing in choirs on the stage at LHS alongside their African-American, Jewish, gay, Chinese, Muslim, Korean, Indian, Christian, lesbian, Latino, Armenian, Hindu, Caucasian and other beautifully diverse peers, I do not believe seeing a black man sworn in as president will be the amazing part of Tuesday.

Rather, they know that Obama himself, their bright, exciting, articulate leader who thrilled our nation and the world, will inspire them in the years to come.

It is in these seismic generational perspective shifts that we acknowledge Dr. King’s legacy. Forty-five years ago, Dr. King poignantly dreamed that one day, his children “would live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” His children and grandchildren are about to witness the fulfillment of that dream when Barack Obama is sworn in as our 44th president on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, will we still have to fight against hatred in all its forms including racism, homophobia and anti-semitism? Sadly, yes. Will we still need to speak out against intolerance, discrimination, poverty and prejudice? Yes we must. Will we still need to teach and preach respect for those different from ourselves? Yes we will. But on Tuesday, something will change in a profound way for all Americans and the world watching our historic moment.

Join us this Sunday and participate in community-wide conversation groups about this remarkable time for our country. Come share your perspective, your thoughts, your ideas, your hopes and your wishes with your neighbors and friends as we embark, together, on a new path for our nation.

Jill Smilow is chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. CommUNITY Commemoration Committee.