Queens College Commemorates Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Photo via the National Park Service.

By Jonathan Sperling

The City University of New York will observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a slate of commemorative events that serve to honor the legendary civil rights leader across its campuses, including one in the heart of Queens.

The Colden Auditorium, located at Queens College’s Kupferberg Center for the Arts (65-30 Kissena Blvd.) will host “Dance Theatre of Harlem: A Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration” from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan 20.

The event will feature a blending of boroughs as the acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem performs “Harlem on My Mind,” “Corsaire Pas de Deux,” Balamouk, and Return, a work created by Dance Theatre of Harlem's resident choreographer Robert Garland set to the music of Aretha Franklin and James Brown.

Dance Theatre of Harlem founding member and artistic director Virginia Johnson will be the honoree and keynote speaker of the night.

Tickets to the event are $35 and are available for purchase on Ticketmaster via the Kupferberg Center, or by calling the theater’s box office at 718-793-8080.

“At CUNY, we strive to express Dr. King’s ideals through our mission of serving students from all backgrounds, and we join the nation in honoring his legacy,” CUNY’s Interim Chancellor Vita C. Rabinowitz said in a statement.

“One of the memorable and moving events in CUNY history was Dr. King’s 1963 commencement address at City College, which he delivered just hours after the assassination of Medgar Evers in Mississippi,” Rabinowitz continued. “His words that day ring true more than half a century later. Now more than ever our university endeavors to help ‘transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.’”