Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will host its Fourth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the HCCC Culinary Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City, NJ. HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber will provide welcoming remarks. The program will include:
- Introduction by Richard Walker, Associate Director for Institutional Engagement and Excellence;
- Poetry Reading by Victoria Lenga, HCCC student and member of the Student Literature Council;
- Invocation by Reverend Dr. Frances Snelling Teabout, Founder and Pastor of Open Door Worship Center in Jersey City, and HCCC Trustee;
- Remarks by Dr. Jerry Lamb, HCCC Criminal Justice Program Associate Professor;
- Introduction of Keynote Speaker, Fatima Eldei, HCCC Student and STEM Club President;
- Keynote Address by Kevin D. Richardson, Exonerated Five member and justice advocate; and,
- Closing Remarks by Yeurys Pujols, Vice President for Institutional Engagement and Excellence.
Kevin Richardson became a symbol of wrongful conviction in the 1989 Central Park jogger assault and rape case. He and four other Black and Hispanic teens were imprisoned based on coerced confessions following more than 24 hours without access to food, water, bathrooms, and legal counsel. In 2002, Matias Reyes confessed to the crimes, and DNA evidence confirmed his guilt. The Central Park Five became the Exonerated Five.
Mr. Richardson has since been a criminal justice reform advocate, raising awareness by partnering with the Innocence Project. He launched C.P.R. (Courage, Perseverance, and Resilience), a workshop to inform teens about handling police encounters and understanding their civil rights. Through the Kevin Richardson Foundation, he is committed to promoting social responsibility, criminal justice reform, and building transformative futures.
“Every year, we celebrate Dr. King’s accomplishments and reflect on the common thread that holds truth to power, in the past and present,” said HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber. “It requires dialogue, determination, and tenacity. We are proud to shine a light on the past and work to ensure we maintain our civil liberties with civility – in the courageous spirit of leaders like Dr. King.”
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About Hudson County Community College
Hudson County Community College serves more than 24,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The College offers more than 90 degree and certificate programs, including award-winning English as a Second Language; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management; Nursing and Health Professions; and Humanities and Social Sciences. The HCCC Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management program was ranked number six in the U.S. by Best Choice Schools. The College’s School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers cutting-edge, industry-recognized, stackable credentials in alignment with high-priority workforce needs.
HCCC has partnerships with major four-year colleges and universities in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond, accommodating seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education.
The College has received dozens of national awards throughout the years. HCCC was a finalist in seven categories of the 2024 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) “Awards of Excellence” and earned 2024 CEO of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Student Success Awards. In 2023, HCCC received the Outstanding Member-Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
For the fifth consecutive year, HCCC was selected as one of only a few community colleges in the United States to be named among the “2025 Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges” by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD). HCCC was one of 22 community colleges in the nation, and the only college in New Jersey, to be recognized by ModernThink LLC and the “Chronicle of Higher Education” as a 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 “Great College to Work For®” and named to the 2024 and 2023 “Great Colleges Honor Roll of Distinction.”
HCCC is one of two colleges in the United States to be named a Top Ten Finalist in all three program categories for the nationally recognized 2023 Bellwether Awards, and received the 2023 Bellwether Award for the College’s cutting-edge “Hudson Scholars” program, which also won the 2024 Bellwether Legacy Award.
The College’s exemplary work in advancing student success has been recognized with 2025, 2024 and 2023 “Leader College of Distinction” designation by Achieving the Dream, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community colleges as catalysts for equity and mobility in their communities. HCCC also earned the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention in 2025, 2024 and 2023 for demonstrating leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion.
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) recently named the College the inaugural recipient of the 2025 ACCT national “Impact and Success Award.”
