African American Club, PHCC plan to honor King

"It is not the words of enemies that we remember, but the silence of friends," Martin Luther King Jr. once said.

Daniel Callaghan is fond of repeating that quote as he and other African American Club of Pasco leaders prepare to present a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration on Jan. 16.

Pasco-Hernando Community College also plans its 27th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Lecture Series for Thursday.

Both free events are open to the public.

During the holiday Jan. 16, the club event will start at 10:30 a.m. with a symbolic march from Union Missionary Baptist Church, 6235 Pine Hill Road, Port Richey.

The marchers will walk to the African American Club building at 6105 Pine Hill Road, just off Congress Street.

At the club, Michael Miller will be the main speaker. He is founder of Make the World a Better Place, a firm that gives seminars to inspire positive changes and empower people.

Other speakers will include New Port Richey Police Chief James Steffens and Pasco County Schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino.

Musician and composer Bonnie Whitehurst will provide entertainment, along with the Union Missionary Baptist Church Choir. The AAC Youth Choir will make its debut as well.

Readings from King's "Riverside Church" address will be given. Among the clergy attending will be the Rev. Rahn Smart of the Union Missionary Baptist Church; the Rev. Rafael Amengual, a Southern Baptist pastor from Chile; the Rev. Mark Hamilton of the Community Congregational United Church of Christ, New Port Richey; and Imam Shah Hashimi of the Islamic Center of New Port Richey.

The AAC will reveal the winners of its "Rap or Writing" contest, with the first-prize winner reading his or her work aloud.

The second recipient of the AAC Lifetime Achievement Award will accept the honor.

A free meal will be provided with the assistance of Occupy New Port Richey, Callaghan said.

For more information, call AAC Secretary Dan Callaghan at (727) 372-1742 or AAC President Larnelle Scott at (770) 265-8834.

Pasco-Hernando Community College will feature activist, writer, public speaker and entrepreneur Kevin Powell, who will speak on this year's theme: "Dr. King, Obama, Hip-hop and the American Dream."

The lecture will start at 9:45 a.m. Thursday at the Performing Arts Center on PHCC West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey. The second lecture will be given at 7 p.m. in room E-130 on the East Campus, 36727 Blanton Road, Dade City. Both lectures are free and the public is invited to attend.

"The purpose of the lecture is to commemorate Dr. King's legacy, and to provide a forum for faculty and students to engage in relevant social justice discussions," Imani Asukile, PHCC's district coordinator of multicultural student affairs and equity services, said in a news release.

Schools and organizations are welcome. For more information, call PHCC's information center at (877) 879-7422.