The 35th MLK Day Celebration At the WorldBeat Cultural Center

Attendee Reginald Green (Reggie’s World of Fine Arts) said, “Freedom and equality should be for everyone. We still face police brutality in the Black community. We face challenges of getting certain jobs, housing and equal pay.”

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PHOTOS: Malachi Kudura

By Malachi Kudura, Contributing Writer 

On Monday January 15th the WorldBeat Cultural Center hosted its 35th annual MLK Day Celebration. For over 35 years, families from all backgrounds and nationalities have come to the WorldBeat Center for the annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration. This year’s diverse turnout was a true testament to the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther Jr. As always, there was great food, culture and music. There were also live performances by Pato Banton (reggae artist) and Antoinette Rootsdawtah (activist and musician) who were also the co-hosts. 

PHOTOS: Malachi Kudura

Pato Banton’s song dedicated to Dr. King was a hit with the crowd. Everyone danced and sang along as the music video played on the big screen. His song, “Martin Luther King”, was released last year and became the event’s theme song moving forward. Pato Banton said, “Last year I put together a double album dedicated to Martin Luther King. 48 songs were submitted from artists all over the world. I put it online as a gift for anyone who wants to download it for free.”

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