CHICAGO — Rap pioneer Rakim will headline the 2016 Takin' It to the Streets festival in Marquette Park, set to take place on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s march in the neighborhood.
The Aug. 6 festival held by the Inner-City Muslim Action Network will also feature a march, bazaar and an activists' summit featuring speakers including Malcolm X's daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, according to lead planner Lavon Pettis.
"The whole objective of Takin' It To The Streets is intercultural, interfaith and interpersonal dialog ... to have people who might not have an opportunity to engage with one another," Pettis said.
The day before the festival, the Chicago Public Art group plans to finish a sculpture in the park commemorating Martin Luther King, who marched in the neighborhood in 1966 for housing rights. While marching he was hit by a rock.
Artists plan to erect the memorial to MLK on the corner of Kedzie Avenue and Marquette Road in time for the 2016 Takin' It to the Streets festival. [IMAN]
The last edition of the festival also took place in Marquette Park. Pettis said 10,000 people attended the event featuring headliner rapper Talib Kweli.
A full lineup has not been released yet, but Pettis said that rapper Brother Ali will also perform.
The festival takes place in the park from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 6. The event is free, though there is a $5 suggested donation. A march commemorating King's march is planned to kick off at 9 a.m.
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