Dr. Martin Luther King, of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, tells a news conference in Philadelphia Feb. 9, 1968 that he will go to Washington in April with thousands of supporters to demand a comprehensive job and income program from the Federal Government. He opened the first office in Philadelphia February 9 in conjunction with this effort. Dr. King said that the temper of the program will be nonviolent, but his people will be prepared to stay until the government responds and legislation to that aim is reached. (AP Photo)
Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.
AP Photo
Dr. Martin Luther King, of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, tells a news conference in Philadelphia Feb. 9, 1968 that he will go to Washington in April with thousands of supporters to demand a comprehensive job and income program from the Federal Government. He opened the first office in Philadelphia February 9 in conjunction with this effort. Dr. King said that the temper of the program will be nonviolent, but his people will be prepared to stay until the government responds and legislation to that aim is reached. (AP Photo)
Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when the life of America’s most influential and cherished civil rights leader is honored.
Dr. King’s dream of a nation where blacks and whites lived, worked and played together in harmony has never been fully realized. Racism is still alive and well in this country – maybe not in the same form as when King was campaigning for equal rights and justice, but minorities and white Americans often don’t look at things the same way. In fact, racism itself is one of the most difficult topics to discuss in this country.
Also on Monday’s Smart Talk is a discussion of local African-American history — Harrisburg’s “Old Eighth Ward” was the center of the African-American community at the turn of the 20th Century. By mid-century it had shifted north in the city influenced by the expansion of the Capitol Complex.
Kristian Carter, 24, is researching the history of Harrisburg’s mid-20th-century African American business community, the remnants of which, the “Old Jackson House” and the Curtis Funeral Home, are well-known landmarks, long vacant, and now undergoing renovation, under the new brand “Jackson Square.”
Carter will appear on Smart Talk.
They will be giving a presentation at Historic Harrisburg on Monday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m.
Dr. Amanda Kemp, Ph.D. (left), author, and Erika Fitz (right), editor of Stop Being Afraid – 5 Steps to Transforming Your Conversations about Racism, appear on Smart Talk on January 20, 2020.
Kristian Carter appears on Smart Talk on January 20, 2020.