Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum’s Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program Features Harry E. Johnson Sr., President, King National Memorial Project

Media Advisory: January 13, 2012

Harry E. Johnson Sr., president and CEO for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation will be the featured speaker for the museum’s 27th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Program Friday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m.

Johnson’s remarks addressing the history and significance of the national memorial project paying tribute to King will be followed by a dialogue with Tracey Webb, founder and editor-in-chief of BlackGivesBack.com and The Black Benefactors, at Baird Auditorium in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W.

The event includes a step performance by the Omicron Eta Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., one of three Alpha alumni chapters in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1906 and with more than 700 chapters in the U.S and abroad, Alpha Phi Alpha is the first of the original nine Black Greek Letter organizations and is the fraternity to which King belonged.

Admission is free, but seating is limited. To obtain more information or make reservations, the public may email acmrsvp@si.edu or call (202) 633-4875.

“We welcome this opportunity to shed light on the evolution of this historic tribute to honor Dr. King,” said Camille Giraud Akeju, director of the museum.

Charged by the President and Congress to erect a memorial to honor the life and legacy of King on the National Mall, Johnson has led the foundation since 2002 to bring about the completion and dedication of this project, which occurred Oct. 16, 2011. More than 10,000 dignitaries, including President Barack Obama, celebrities and well wishers from around the world, attended the dedication event. Under Johnson’s leadership, the foundation assembled the infrastructure to raise $117 of the $120 million needed to complete the memorial, which garnered support from all living Presidents, Congress, corporate and nonprofit communities and celebrities.

Johnson was a former national president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Named in Ebony magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential Black Americans” from 2001 to 2004 among other recognitions, Johnson is a career attorney and partner in the law office of Glenn and Johnson.

Having nearly 20 years experience in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, Webb established the BlackGivesBack.com blog in 2007 as an online destination for African American philanthropy. The blog annually publishes a list of the top 10 black celebrity philanthropists. She also founded The Black Benefactors, a giving circle that provides grants to nonprofit organizations serving African American children, youth and families in the Washington region. Webb and her charity were featured in the August 2011 Ebony magazine article “Where Wealthy Blacks Give…”

The Anacostia Community Museum was opened in southeast Washington in 1967 as the nation’s first federally funded neighborhood museum. Renamed in 2006, it has expanded its focus beyond African American culture to documenting, interpreting and collecting objects related to the impact of historical and contemporary social issues on communities. For more information, the public may call (202) 633-4820, (202) 633-1000 or (202) 633-5285 (TTY). Website: anacostia.si.edu.

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SI-13-2012