NORFOLK, Va. - The City of Norfolk is celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, with a special virtual ceremony and concert.
The ceremony will air on COX channel Norfolk TV48, NorfolkTV YouTube channel, and Norfolk's Facebook page. The in-person ceremony and march will not be held this year due to current COVID-19 restrictions.
The virtual ceremony will include special messages from Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander and Vice Mayor Martin Thomas, Jr.
Humanitarian and civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Yvonne Y. Delk, will deliver the keynote address. The ceremony will also feature performances that included singer, songwriter, actress and Norfolk native, Ms. Jessie Wagner.
The virtual ceremony will air on COX channel TV 48 beginning Monday through Saturday, January 23 at the following times:
- 12:00 a.m.
- 4:00 a.m.
- 9:30 a.m.
- 1:30 p.m.
- 8:00 p.m.
You can also watch the ceremony below:
In collaboration with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and HARMONY Project partner churches, the annual “Songs for a Dreamer” concert will also be presented virtually this year, with welcoming remarks by Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander.
Excerpts from MLK speeches will be recited by Pastor Jerome Barber of Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Temple and Pastor Geoffrey Guns of Second Calvary Baptist Church.
A string quartet will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” with featured vocal soloist, Dr. Gregory Gardner of Norfolk State University; George Walker’s “Lyric for Strings”; the African American hymn, “He Looked Beyond My Faults”, and Adolphus Hailstork’s, “Adagio for Strings”.
This year the Dreamer Award will be presented to Beverly Kane Baker, former principal violist of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, based on her outstanding example of the King legacy relative to areas of diversity and inclusion and furthering their impact in the orchestral arena.
The “Songs for a Dreamer” concert has been presented by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the HARMONY Project and the City of Norfolk since January 2012.
For more information, click here.
Related: Norfolk's MLK memorial restoration project underway, expected Summer 2021 completion
