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Organizations around the Charlotte region are not letting the coronavirus get in the way of marking this year s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday.
Virtual and outdoor events have been planned throughout the weekend to honor the civil rights leader and build on his dream of racial equality. They include film screenings, musical and dramatic performances, a pay what you can soup kitchen, and virtual remarks from Dr. King s oldest son, Martin Luther King III.
This year s events will also take on special significance after last summer s nationwide protests against police brutality and the rise of white nationalism, said Afeni Grace with Charlotte s Harvey B. Gantt Center.
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A surprise directive from Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris on Tuesday afternoon said that for the next three weeks, county residents should utilize full-virtual options for work, school and other activity where in-person activity is not required.” COVID-19 community spread is at its highest level of the pandemic.
That led to Charlotte museums to announce closures on Wednesday for the duration of the directive. The Mint Museum, Levine Museum of the New South, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Discovery Place and McColl Center all said they would close until at least Feb. 2
Community to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day virtually Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his famous I Have A Dream speech during the original March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. (Source: Gray TV) By WBTV Web Staff | January 15, 2021 at 10:50 AM EST - Updated January 18 at 8:52 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The community will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day virtually in Charlotte this year due to COVID-19.
Events to honor King’s legacy started Friday with the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture hosting virtual films. The center will host a full-day virtual event Monday. Click here to register.
Gantt Center earns $1 million grant from the Knight Foundation
Gift goes to digital initiatives
PHOTO | ARCH DAILY
The Harvey B. Gantt Center earned a $1 million grant from the Knight Foundation for digital initiatives.
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture is focusing on the digital frontier.
It is one of five cultural organizations to receive part of $2.1 million in grant funding from the Knight Foundation, which is designed to help with the digital push amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gantt Center received $1 million. Other recipients include: JazzArts Charlotte ($250,000) , Levine Museum of the New South ($600,000), Queen City New Play Initiative ($100,000) and Que-OS ($200,000).
Gantt Center adds homegrown executive Sophia Partlow Artistic pathway started at former Afro Center
COURTESY SOPHIA MATTHEWS PARTLOW
Charlotte native Sophia Mathews Partlow is the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture s vice president for communications and technology innovation.
December is a homecoming of sorts for Sophia Matthews Partlow.
The Charlotte native grew up attending camps at the Afro-American Cultural Center in First Ward, which moved to Second Ward in 2009 to a new facility and is now the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.
She assumed the role of vice president, communications and technology innovation at Gantt Center on Dec. 1.