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Flushing, New York, January 23, 2024\u2014Queens College held its annual celebration of the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Sunday, January 14, in its LeFrak Concert Hall on campus. The event featured guest speakers, musical performances, and the premiere of the latest episode in the college\u2019s docuseries on Dr. King\u2019s connection to the college. Queens College President Frank H. Wu recognized Jennifer Jones Austin, Esq., CEO and executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), with the college\u2019s 2024 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award. Jones Austin also delivered the keynote address. Watch the commemoration ceremony here<\/a>. A highlights video is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Here at Queens College, we are constantly striving to stay true to Dr. King\u2019s vision of a just society,” Wu said. “We have always felt a special connection to Dr. King since he first spoke on our campus in 1965 as part of the inaugural John F. Kennedy Lecture Series. Nearly 60 years later, many things have changed, but his words remain as true as ever. Our society has improved in many ways, and King\u2019s work along with the efforts of countless others, paved the way for that.”<\/p>\n Speakers included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and New York State Senator John Liu. Queens College Student Association President William Baron and Queens College Black Student Union President Makayla Noble brought greetings. The Queens College Treble Chorus, conducted by Morgan Jolley, Ithaca professor of Music Education, and accompanied by pianist Russell Paul, performed. Prior to the commemoration ceremony, at 12 pm, the college hosted an\u00a0admissions resource fair in the Dining Hall to offer prospective students the opportunity to learn about degree programs, admissions procedures, and financial aid options.<\/p>\n Jones Austin is a fourth-generation faith and social justice leader who fights for equity. FPWA is an anti-poverty, policy, and advocacy organization with 170 member agencies and faith partners; significant social policy changes brought about under Austin\u2019s leadership have empowered the disenfranchised and marginalized. Her approach links an understanding of race, poverty, law, and social policy in America and the role of religion. Please click here<\/a>\u00a0for Austin\u2019s full bio.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing recognized with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award by Queens College, an institution that has been the bedrock for thousands upon thousands of New Yorkers, ensuring them meaningful access and opportunity to brighter futures, is a tremendous honor,\u201d Jones Austin said. \u201cAppreciating that Queens College not only celebrates annually the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but embraces the very essence of his dream in their educational offerings fills me with both joy and humility to be considered worthy of this award.\u201d<\/p>\n Queens College has a longstanding history of involvement in the struggle for equality and social justice. In 1964, Queens College student Andrew Goodman was slain, along with fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, during a voter registration project in Mississippi. The following spring, as the inaugural speaker in the college\u2019s John F. Kennedy Memorial Lecture Series, Dr. King emphasized the power of peaceful resistance. Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to listen to segments of Dr. King\u2019s 1965 speech at Queens College. In 2015, at its 91st commencement ceremony\u2014and fifty years after Dr. King\u2019s address\u2014the college awarded a posthumous honorary doctoral degree to Goodman. Watch the docuseries, Legacy Connection: QC & Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,<\/em> including the latest episode, Heroes in Harm’s Way: Dr. King and Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner<\/em>, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”Maria Matteo” image_icon_background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” image_icon_width=”48px” _builder_version=”4.16.1″ header_font=”Open Sans||||||||” body_text_color=”#000000″ body_font_size=”16px” custom_padding=”|||0px||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]Media and College Relations Queens College Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration on Sunday, January 14, Focused on Engaging Youth and Dr. King\u2019s Enduring Connection to the College \u00a0\u2013Honoree Jennifer Jones Austin, Esq., CEO and Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, delivered the keynote address; speakers included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and New York State Senator John Liu;\u00a0prospective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"page_category":[],"wf_page_folders":[],"class_list":["post-4591","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4591"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4603,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4591\/revisions\/4603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_category?post=4591"},{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/communications\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=4591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/span><\/strong>718-997-5593
\nmaria.matteo@qc.cuny.edu<\/a>
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