PHILADELPHIA, PA — It was announced today that the Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence, Inc. will host its annual ceremony in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his national holiday at the Philadelphia Liberty Bell Pavilion. This will be the 36th Annual Bell Ringing Ceremony at the pavilion. Joye Nottage, Executive Director of the Philadelphia King Association stated, “Despite the ongoing pandemic, we will still celebrate the legacy and memory of Dr. King on his national holiday as we always do. Out of an abundance of caution, we will have a smaller number of people stand with us as we present this years’ ceremony, however, the observance will go on. As the first city asked by Mrs. Coretta Scott King to do this symbolic tapping of the Liberty Bell at 12 noon every year on Dr. King’s national holiday, no way could we skip a year.”
The national bell ringer this year will be Gregory Deavens, President and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. Kim Sledge, one of the famed sisters of the singing group, “Sister Sledge” will open the program with a musical prelude.
The ceremony at the Liberty Bell will start promptly at 11:00 a.m. this year, and will conclude after the symbolic taping of the Liberty Bell at 12 noon on Monday, January 17th. The Liberty Bell is located at 526 Market Street. All participants in the ceremony must wear facemasks, media representatives included. Governor Tom Wolf, U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Mayor James Kenney and Dr. William Tucker, President of the Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence will all have comments featured in video messages that will be played during the program. Rachel Merrill, soloist, will perform two musical selections. Rev. Mark Merrill, Captain Lisa Forest from the Philadelphia Fire Department and Rev. Dr. Lorina Marshall Blake, President, Independence Blue Cross Foundation will offer prayers for the nation. Joye Nottage from the Philadelphia King Association will offer remarks, as will Cynthia Macleod, Superintendent, Independence National Historical Park. PA State Attorney General Josh Shapiro will be at the liberty Bell, along with PA State Senators Vincent Hughes and Sharif Street, and U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey.
Joye Nottage added, “With the support of the Fairmount Park Rangers, our program will go on and it will be live on the King Association’s Facebook.”
The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Holiday was officially enacted, by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
There will NOT be any invited guests onsite and only confirmed program participants will be in the Liberty Bell Chamber (strictly enforced). Some participants statements will be viewed by prerecorded videos due to Covid restraints, as mentioned earlier.
For the first time in 40 years, this year, the annual Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence benefit awards luncheon will not be held, due to Covid.
“Even though the pandemic forced a lot of organizations and groups to cancel many of their regular activities, the Philadelphia Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Nonviolence board members were adamant about still carrying on some of the kinds of work we know that Dr. King would have done, even during a time of a pandemic. Rather than throw our hands up in defeat, we redesigned our immediate mission, which is largely working with youth, to focus on helping to feed families in crisis during these difficult times we’ve all been living through. Almost every month for the last 16 months or so, we’ve been giving away free bags of groceries to low-income families in the parking lot of District Council 33. During the Christmas holidays this past year through a wonderful partnership with the Marines Toys for Tots program, and District Council 33, the King Association was able to give away 8,000 brand new toys to children, over a three-day period. We also continue to work with youth via zoom meetings, conference calls and one on one sessions to keep encouraging our young people to prepare for college and to remind them of Dr. King’s nonviolence principles.
To interview Joye Nottage in advance of the January 17th ceremony at the Liberty Bell Pavilion, please call Thera Martin at 267-402-6313.
