All Over Albany

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events 2015

Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering a speech in New York City in 1962 commemorate the 100th anniversary of the issuance of Abraham Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The State Museum has the audio of the speech -- the only known copy -- posted online. / photo: NYS Archives

Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and for a lot of people will have the day off as a holiday.

And if you do, here are a few events you might think about attending...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Observance at the ESP
The annual King Day ceremony at the ESP Convention Center will include multiple presentations and music. (The event will also be webcast.) Afterward there will be a march from the Madison Ave concourse entrance to the King Monument in Lincoln Park. 9:30 am-11:30 am

Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Celebration at Hackett Middle School in Albany
They keynote speaker for this event, sponsored by the Capital District Area Labor Federation, will be Colia Clark, an activist who worked with Medgar Evers in Mississippi. She's also a former Albany resident who taught at area colleges. (Here's an event preview article about Clark from the TU.) The event will also include music, discussions, and tables for various orgs. noon-3:30 pm

"The Brothers: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in Albany"
The exhibit "The Brothers: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in Albany" will be on display at King's Place Gallery (29 North Swan Street in Albany). And there will also be a short documentary screening. Members of The Brothers activist group will be there to make some remarks. 2 pm-3 pm

Selma
If you have the day off, it could be a good opportunity catch a screening of Selma, which has gotten very strong reviews. The multiplexes and the Spectrum have multiple screenings Monday, including matinee screenings.

Listen to a King speech
You could do this anytime, but Monday's a good time: Last year the State Museum posted online audio from a 1962 speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at an event in NYC. The recording had been lost until it turned up as part of an effort digitize the museum's collections.