Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), welcomed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, and New York City and State elected officials to the House of Justice in Harlem to commemorate King Day on Monday, January 19 starting at 1 p.m. The King Day Public Policy Forum — where New York City and State leaders discussed how they will carry on Dr. King’s dream of a just, fair nation — comes amid growing efforts to erase the hard-won federal holiday from the calendar.
“We are in a moment in which right-wing activists are trying to erase King Day, his legacy, and the man himself from American history,” said Sharpton. “This year’s commemoration in Harlem, where the King Movement grew and continued after his murder, will serve as much as an activation to preserve and advance everything he fought for. Not since the time of Dr. King have civil rights faced these kinds of threats, and we must come together to make a clear stand that the victories he and many others fought, bled and died for will not be wiped out.”
The House of Justice rally in Harlem came immediately after NAN hosted its annual King Day Legislative Breakfast in Washington, D.C. that morning. Rev. Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Arndrea Waters King recognized distinguished leaders including former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, BET Co-Founder and Salamander Collection CEO Sheila Johnson, and veteran political strategist and best-selling author Donna Brazile.
Unbelievable.
Like him or not; Reverend Al keeps it moving by celebrating the importance of Black History and those who played major parts in its creation and later survived the consequences.