Citizens Bank gives African American Museum $25,000 for King celebration

Citizens Bank presented the museum with a $25,000 contribution on behalf of the Citizens Charitable Foundation to support the 2019 Martin Luther King Weekend Celebration at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

The museum and Citizens Bank are going into their 13th year of celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. together.

Throughout the weekend and during Monday’s MLK Day Celebration, the museum’s 2019 theme “Media and the Movement” will explore the relationship between news media, and current and historic social justice movements in the United States.

“There is a clear connection between the very wise strategies employed by Dr. King and what we see now with #BlackLivesMatter and other hashtag movements,” said museum President/CEO Patricia Wilson Alden. “We wanted to chronicle that and talk about how this partnership actually energized the African-American community’s engagement, so it is an interesting touch point that many of our citizens are not aware of. There has been deep thought and deep connection between the media and the movement for decades now — and it continues to grow and evolve as the media continues to grow and evolve and as we continue to face these issues as a community.”

This celebration includes four days of events and special activities, culminating in a free and discounted day at the museum on Martin Luther King Day (Monday, Jan. 21). The money will help the museum give away 1,000 free tickets on a first-come-first-served basis and $3-discounted tickets for anyone not receiving a free ticket on Jan. 21. Museum admission is usually $14 for adults and $10 for youth, students and seniors.

Guests can also explore the core exhibition “Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia,” along with two special photography exhibitions, “Cotton: The Soft, Dangerous Beauty of the Past” and “Photographic Memory.”

This article originally appeared in The Philadelphia Tribune.