Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration - Teaneck High School Student to be Honored

The Martin Luther King Birthday Committee invites the
community to celebrate Dr. King’s 85th birthday on Monday, January 20,
at the Community Baptist Church, 224 First Street, Englewood, NJ . The
evening of fellowship, song and discussion -- “Standing Tall for Dr.
King: Working to Fulfill the Dream” -- begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be
hosted by Anthony Johnson of Channel 7 Eyewitness News.


The keynote speaker for the evening commemoration is Khalil Gibran
Muhammad, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture, one of the world’s leading research facilities dedicated to the
history of the African Diaspora. Dr. Muhammad was an Assistant Professor of History at Indiana State University prior to joining the
Schomburg Center, and while there he wrote “The Condemnation of
Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America.”


Music will be provided by the Community Baptist Church Choir and the
Teaneck Community Chorus. The MLK Committee will present the 2014 Rev.

Lee Reid Award to The Teaneck Film Festival. Judy Distler and Jeremy
Lintz will be accepting the award.


County Executive Kathleen Donovan is invited to present the Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Awards, along with Certificates of Merit from Bergen
County, to 19 Bergen County High School students who have been selected
by their advisors and teachers. These students, from public, private,
and parochial schools and home schooling groups in Bergen County, are
committed to the ideals of Dr. King, and have excelled in their studies.


One of these students will receive a $1,000 scholarship for this
year’s winning essay. The 19 award winners are:

1. Puneet Binepal – Northern Highlands Regional High School

2. Margitt-Marie Canaan – Pascack Valley High School

3. Juliet Chung – Lodi High School

4. Nicole DeSantis – Indian Hills High School

5. Erika DiPasquale – Paramus High School

6. Harley Anna Finn – Emerson High School

7. Marcus Greer – Tenafly High School

8. Monica Gonzalez-Curci – Leonia High School

9. Madeleine Haig – Rutherford High School

10. Taylor Z. Jordan – Hackensack High School

11. Michael Kidd-Phillips – Don Bosco Prep

12. Deijah Lee-Carroll – Teaneck High School

13. Olivia Marriott – Community High School

14. Babatunde Ojo – Queen of Peace High School

15. Lauren Raffaelli – Midland Park High School

16. Mara Senchak – Mahwah High School

17. Elizabeth Spenst – Academies at Englewood

18. Monica Valencia – Bergenfield High School

19. Tahmir Williams – St. Mary High School


The Martin Luther King Birthday Committee consists of members from
various towns in the county who represent diversity in their races,
religions, and ages. Other sponsoring organizations include religious,
civic, labor, peace and justice, social and fraternal organizations
from around the county and state. Admission is free, but a voluntary
offering will be collected. Contributions will be donated to
organizations such as the Teaneck Library for its collection on Dr.
King, and Family Promise of Bergen County.


Following the program, refreshments will be served.


For information or directions, please contact Peggy Monges at


201-767-8463 or 551-804-9356.
Email: peggy.monges@yahoo.com