Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration in Teaneck - Church of St. Anastasia

Last night I covered the 84th Birthday Celebration for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Church of St. Anastasia in Teaneck, NJ for Patch.com.  Below are some of the images.  Click here to see the rest and full captions.

Anthony Johnson, on-air newsman for WABC-Channel 7 served as emcee for the event.  This was his "7th or 8th year" at the podium.

Church was filled to capacity for the event.

The Teaneck Community Choir sang "Harvest for the World", written by Teaneck's own Isley Brothers and Chris Jasper.

County Executive Kathleen Donovan, Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle gather to congratulate 21 outstanding 12th grade students on their Dr. MLK, Jr. Youth Certificates of Merit Awards.

The evening's keynote speaker was Dr. Nell Irvin Painter, author, historian and artist. Her most recent book is "The History of White People." Painter is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Princeton University. In addition to her earned doctorate in history from Harvard University, she has received honorary doctorates from Wesleyan, Dartmouth, SUNY-New Paltz and Yale. Other books written by her include "Creating Black Americans," "Southern History across the Color Line" and "Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol." She spoke eloquently of the origins of slavery, dating back to the 1800's and its connection to sugar production. She then related this to human trafficking and how slavery is not an issue of race, because any people who are vulnerable can become enslaved regardless of place or race.

Candle Lighting Ceremony by four outstanding 12th graders who earned the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Youth Certificate of Merit.

To view my NEWLY REVISED EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY website, click here .. and to become a fan of my FaceBook photography page, please visit here.  Thank you!