Frontiers International Plainfield Area Club reports

PLAINFIELD, NJ — Frontiers International Plainfield Area Club will host its 45^th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Celebration on Monday, January 18, 2021 at 10:00 AM Live on Facebook and YouTube @PlainfieldFrontiersClub. The guest speaker will be Ryan P. Haygood, Esq., a nationally respected civil rights attorney, President and CEO of the NJ Institute for Social Justice, where he leads a majority-women of color team of racial justice advocates whose cutting-edge work — powered by grassroots organizing, research, writing, policy and legislative advocacy, and litigation — seeks to build reparative systems that create wealth, justice, and power for Black, Latina/Latino and other people of color in NJ.

The Memorial Celebration, the longest running tribute to Dr. King in New Jersey, will honor the civil rights icon and the many contributions he made throughout his lifetime. The theme will be:
Insufficient Funds — the Bad Check to Black Americans: The Guarantee of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

During the celebration, we will examine the longstanding challenges of social and economic injustice that Blacks in America continue to face; those highlighted by King himself in his I Have a Dream speech where he remarks:

In a sense we have come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given its colored people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.

Each year, Frontiers International Plainfield Area Club, through its scholarship and educational programs, helps provide opportunities to local young people who wish to further their educational attainment beyond high school. The Plainfield Frontiers also host free seminars and workshops to help educate and empower community members in key areas including Black American History, financial literacy, and wellness.

To enhance the lives of the most vulnerable among us, the Frontiers also provide key mentorship programs for young men throughout the region. The Frontiers work alongside community members to fight for social and economic justice and equal human rights.

Proceeds from the MLK Memorial Celebration will provide scholarships to help deserving high schoolers pursue a college degree.

The event will begin with a virtual reception where guests will hear from our community-oriented sponsors and enjoy stimulating conversation with other community-minded individuals. The reception will be followed by the distribution of this year’s scholarship awards to rising scholars graduating from Plainfield’s high schools, a special keynote address from our guest speaker, and live entertainment from dynamic local youth groups and individuals.

The underlying focus of the event is Social and Economic Justice. Awards will be given to special honorees that have been instrumental in making Plainfield and surrounding communities a better place to live and raise families.

Frontiers International Plainfield Area Club strives to advance the African American Community through Leadership, Fellowship, and Service.

45th Annual MLK Memorial Celebration
Frontiers International Plainfield Area Club

For more information, call John Brinkley (908) 868-8704 or email [email protected].

Supported by a grant from the City of Plainfield Cultural and Heritage Commission

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