Queens Borough President Helen Marshall will honor Saturday January 16th youngsters who wrote letters to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. as part of a writing project to commemorate the life and legacy of the slain civil rights leader.



The “Dear Dr. King” letters will be part of annual tribute to mark Dr. King’s birthday. The event, which begins at 11:30 a.m., will take place in the Queens Borough Central Library auditorium, located at 89-11 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica. Speakers include Ms. Joy Kelly, who met Dr. King and was the first African American child to integrate her school.



The public is invited to attend the tribute to Dr. King, sponsored by the Queens Library in cooperation with the Office of the Borough President and her African American Heritage Planning Committee.



The 39-year-old King was assassinated in April, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to attend a rally in support of striking sanitation workers.



“Each year, our county, our city and our nation remember the life of Dr. King and his powerful message of nonviolence and equal rights,” said Marshall. “We remember his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize later that year.”



“At Saturday’s event, youngsters of a new generation will again hear his words and have the opportunity to witness a critical time in our nation’s history through a documentary film about Dr. King’s life and the civil rights movement.