Where and When: Reston Community Center presents 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend at CenterStage, Hunters Woods Village Center, 2310 Colts Neck Rd, Reston, VA 20191.
* Baratunde Thurston: Writer, Comedian, Activist at CenterStage, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2020 at 2 p.m. Tickets: $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston.
* Heather McGee featured presenter at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Community Lunch at Reston Community Center, Monday, Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. Tickets: $5 Reston/$10 Non-Reston.
Note: It is recommended that children under 16 be accompanied by an adult. Note: for health and safety masks are required to be worn. Details at www.restocommunitycenter.com
Developing the multi-day Reston Community Center’s (RCC) activities to mark the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, Leila Gordan, RCC Executive Director and Beverly Cosham, President RCC Board of Governors ask tough questions; “Are we fully committed to what Dr. King believed in and his teachings? Are we doing enough to be part of the change in eliminating injustice?”
Beverly Cosham
Gordan noted the RCC’s long standing commitment to going beyond entertainment for the Dr. King Jr events. “We want to be purposeful; to give space to programming and conversations about Black lives in American life” throughout the year.
For the 2022 Dr. King Jr. events, the Reston Community Center invited two nationally recognized headliners to share their powerful, galvanizing voices: speakers who will look not only to the past and present, but to the future.
Heather McGhee is a nationally recognized expert and author of economic and social policy. She is the former president of Demos, a think tank “that powers the movement for a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy.” She now chairs the Board of “Color of Change,” online racial justice organization. McGhee will be featured at the Reston Community Lunch on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.
McGhee is the author of the New York Times best-seller “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.” She writes of “The Solidarity Dividend” a term for benefits gained when people come together across race to accomplish what cannot be accomplished alone. In the book she asks “What If racism is actually driving inequality for everyone?”
Heather McGhee
Baratunde Thurston is a writer, comedian and commentator. Growing up in Washington, DC and then suburban Maryland became an initial touch-point for his observations about life in America and his presentations about race, culture, and politics.
Thurston’s TED Talk “How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time,” has over 5 million views. His New York Times bestseller “How To Be Black,” is an autobiography about the challenges he faced while growing up. His podcast “How to Citizen with Baratunde” has a mission to reimagine the word “citizen” into a verb showing its collective power to change politics in working toward outcomes that benefit the many, not just the few.
Reston Community Center’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend events aim to be rich conversations and deep reflection to make a real difference on the journey to full social justice.
Celebration Calendar of Events
2 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods – the CenterStage
$15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston (tickets sold through the CenterStage Box Office)
Baratunde Thurston holds space for hard and complex conversations with his blend of humor, wisdom and compassion. He is an Emmy-nominated TV host who has worked for The Onion, produced for The Daily Show, advised the Obama White House and written The New York Times bestseller How To Be Black.
RCC Hunters Woods: the CenterStage and Community Room
$5 Reston/$10 Non-Reston (tickets sold through the CenterStage Box Office)
Especially for Youth
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods
6 – 12 Years Old. Free. Registration Required. Reg. #704750-2A
You may register your school-age child (first to sixth grade) to participate in activities at RCC. Children must be registered in advance and no onsite registration will be available on the day of the event. Children will rotate through a series of activities, including an age-appropriate video and arts and crafts. All activities will be based on the history of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. A self-contained lunch will be provided.
Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Exhibit
January 2022 • RCC Hunters Woods
Art from Reston’s elementary schools celebrating Dr. King and his life’s work.