Grammy-Nominated Poet, Activist & Author Set To Visit Red Bank

RED BANK, NJ — Grammy-nominated poet, activist and author Kevin Powell is coming to Red Bank on Sunday.

In partnership with the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, Two River Theater will host Powell for his presentation “What Would Dr. King Say Now? How to Heal America” at 2 p.m.

The presentation will take place one day before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater. Prior to the event, there will be a reception at 1 p.m. with light refreshments served.

The presentation will visit the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and reflect on how his words matter to America today and going forward.

"America is going through a very heavy period of division, hate, violence in unseen ways, a search for its soul,” Powell said. “If there was ever a time to visit or re-visit the life and work and words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the great Civil Rights Movement, it is now. To go forward, we must look back.”

“That is what this gathering at Two River Theater is about for me,” Powell continued. “How do we as a community of people, as members of the human race in spite of our differences, go forward, even in difficult times?"

Known as one of the most celebrated political, cultural, literary and hip-hop voices in America, Powell is a writer, Grammy-nominated poet and public speaker who has lectured in all 50 states and on five continents.

A Jersey City native, Powell has been involved with most democratic movements of the latter 20th and early 21st centuries and has written a total of 16 books, including “Grocery Shopping with My Mother,” his third volume of poetry.

At Sunday’s presentation, Powell will be able to sign copies of “The Kevin Powell Reader,” which collects over 30 years of Powell's writing.

“Kevin Powell is a resounding voice of humanity, and sensibility in an unstable chapter in the American story,” says Gilda Rogers, executive director of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center. “As a truth-teller in the spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Powell represents compassion and embodies the passion of a modern-day change agent.”

To reserve your free ticket to the event, you can click here.

The Two River Theater is located at 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank.