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Dunbar Center to hold MLK reading

SITE FOR MLK READING — The Dunbar Center, located at 300 Kessel St., along Weir Avenue in Weirton, will be the site for an upcoming reading of The Battle for MLK Day at 12:30 p.m. Monday. -- Contributed

WEIRTON — The Dunbar Recreation Center will present the reading “The Battle for MLK Day,” at 12:30 p.m. Monday. The reading will be performed in the style of reader’s theater.

The event is being co-sponsored by the Ohio Valley Cloak and Dagger Co.

According to Pete Fernbaugh, artistic director of Cloak and Dagger and playwright behind the production, the performance will recount “in dramatic fashion,” the challenges and obstacles that faced supporters of a federal holiday in Martin Luther King Jr.’s honor.

“The idea of honoring Dr. King with a federal holiday was first proposed by Rep. John Conyers four days after MLK’s assassination,” Fernbaugh said. “It took 15 years for the measure to pass, and during those 15 years, King’s family, friends and followers had to fight tooth-and-nail against debunked allegations and low-key racism from state and federal leaders.”

“I say ‘low-key’ because they always tried to make it sound like their concerns were not rooted in race,” fernbaugh added. “But King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, believed they were, and the evidence seems to support her.”

Starring the Wayward Saints theatrical troupe, The Battle for MLK Day features Rob DeSantis as Sen. Jesse Helms, Robert J. Gaudio as President Ronald Reagan, Jalen Mccrary as Rep. John Conyers and King, and in her debut performance with Cloak and Dagger, Linda Spencer as Coretta Scott King.

Bethany Fernbaugh and Malachi McClendon round out the cast as the storytellers.

“The Dunbar Recreation Center is looking forward to honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday,” Earlean Jones, president of the Dunbar Recreation Center said.

“Unfortunately, because the forecast indicates extremely chilly weather, we’ve decided to cancel the walk this year,” she added.

Instead, doors to the Dunbar Recreation Center will open at noon, and the production will begin at 12:30 p.m. A luncheon will follow.

“This day is just a small part of the legacy Dr. King left behind and shows togetherness among all people,” Jones said. “We want to promote this spirit of unity right here in Weirton.”

Officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021, the center is located at 300 Kessel St., along Weir Avenue in Weirton.

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