Ntare Ali Gault Headlines 7th Annual MLK Event

By Amanda Snyder

HAMBURG, NY- Hilbert College welcomed playwright, author and spoken word artist Ntare Ali Gault on Jan. 28. Gault was the speaker at the 7^th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Celebration, held in the Swan Auditorium. His remarks included comments on Martin Luther King Jr. ’s role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, along with today’s civil rights struggles in his presentation, “Spoken Word, Hip Hop, Black Lives Matter: How MLK speaks to Us Today.”

Gault performed three original spoken word poems including “Shark Bait,” “Pawns in this Game,” and “The Hands and Dreams of Big Mama.”He addressed activist movements of the past and present, and social justice in the world of professional athletics. (Gault is the husband of Hilbert Professor Erika Gault, and Gault also mentioned that the couple are brand-new parents.  Their daughter was bornJan.26.

Student Government Association Representative Wyann Jackson said  the presentation informative. “It was a great way to get informed of diversity, not just at Hilbert, but in the real world as well,” He said.

Gault is the founder and organizer of Njozi Poets. He is a popular slam poet who was won many slam-poetry competitions.He was a member of Buffalo’s Nickel City Poetry Slam Team.