By Brian Zanzonico
and spotted a photo on the wall of the young man's father shaking hands with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"As a young boy growing up in those times and seeing someone I know shaking hands with a man of that magnitude left an impression on me that stays to this day," Harper said.
Harper was one of about 400 people, of all races and creeds, who gathered at Gotham Avenue School in Elmont last Friday for the Gateway Youth Outreach/Gotham Avenue School's ninth Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.
The 200 or so children in grades 1 through 6 who take part in Gateway Youth Outreach's after-school program at Gotham Avenue sang songs, performed dance routines, read poems and rapped about King. The children opened the event by entering the auditorium singing Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," parading through the stage exits and side doors framed by student artwork.
"When you look in the eyes of these children, you see his [King's] dream came true," Town Councilman Ed Ambrosino told the audience, speaking in front of a poster that said, "People are like clouds. They look different on the outside but inside they are all made up of the same stuff."
Hassan Fuller's self-composed rap honoring King, a hilarious tribute to the late James Brown by Kent Williams, Blessing Awowole and Luis Troncozo and a finale of "We Are the World" and "Happy Birthday," sung by the students, highlighted the two-hour event, while the third-grade girls' routine to Beyonce's "Upgrade U" had the parents in the audience cheering and the GYO board members wiping away tears of laughter as the youngsters twirled and danced around the stage.
Pat Boyle, GYO's executive director, said the students prepared for months, using the few hours they had every day after school to practice with counselors. He explained that GYO hosts many events each year to showcase the talents of the children, but the annual King celebration is the most well attended and the one children most look forward to. "This is a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., but also Elmont, one of the most diverse places on Long Island," Boyle said. "It's the diversity that makes GYO so great."
Black History Month celebration planned
Elmont school board member Aubrey Phillips announced at the Celebration that a Black History Month event will be held at Elmont Memorial Library on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., featuring a round-table discussion with community leaders and the presentation of the 2007 Carter G. Woodson Award.
School leaders, local politicians and others are invited to join a group discussion focusing on the neighborhood's needs, which will be followed by an awards ceremony. Assemblyman Tom Alfano will present his 21st Assembly District Martin Luther King Jr. Award to two local residents. One person will be given the Woodson award, which honors the father of Black History Month.
"There is a misconception that Black History Month is because of Frederick Douglass, but it is because of Dr. Carter G. Woodson," Phillips said. Woodson, the son of former slaves who died in 1926 at age 75, was an American historian credited with establishing the study of black history. To focus attention on black contributions in the U.S., he founded Negro History Week in 1926, which later became Black History Month.
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