African American Museum in Philadelphia joins forces with Philadelphia Ballet for MLK weekend

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The African American Museum of Philadelphia joined forces with the Philadelphia Ballet for "Day of Dance" on Saturday, under the banner of their theme, "inspiring the next generation of dreamers."

"I think it's really important for people to come now during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend because what better time to take on extending the legacy of Dr. King?" said Nina Ball, director of programming at the African American Museum of Philadelphia.

African dance classes were taught by instructors from the Philadelphia Ballet.

"I was teaching a dance from Guinea, West Africa, that's called 'Kuku,' and it's a celebration dance," said Patricia Peaches Jones, a dance instructor.

People visiting the museum on Saturday spoke about the significance of MLK weekend.

"I always think about MLK Day, as like a day 'on,' as opposed to a day 'off.' So it's important to be active and learning about Black history here in the U.S. and doing something to contribute to the community," said Angela Crumdy, from West Philadelphia.

Many found links to Philadelphia.

"There's a lot of connections of Black history and the neighborhoods I walk all the time," said Tahira Collier, from Brewerytown.

Throughout the rest of the month, the museum will be collecting donations to help the community.

"We started a launch of something called the "Big Giveback" and the beneficiary is the Center for H.O.P.E. -- it's a men's and women's shelter here in Philadelphia, and we'll be collecting donations here in our lobby," said Ball. "We just encourage people to come down, participate and really help to extend Dr. King's legacy of the war on poverty of loving one another, of caring for one another, inspiring us to be our best selves and really tapping into the light within."

On Monday, January 16th, 2023, is Philadelphia's 28th Martin Luther King Day of Service.

For more information, visit: MLK Day of Service