King Birthday to Be Observed on Two Days

Martin Luther King’s birthday will be recognized Tuesday--King’s actual birthday--by Compton Community College. School will be out for the day and college offices closed.

Rio Hondo College will sponsor talks in Putnam Center at the college, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, in honor of King’s birthday. Ulis Williams, associate dean of continuing education and athletic director at Compton College, will speak on the “Black Struggle for Justice” at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. Williams was a Gold Medal winner in the 1964 Olympics and a world’s record-holder in the 4 by 400-meter relay that year.

Philip Montez, regional director of the Western Regional Office for the United States Commission on Civil Rights, will speak on affirmative action at noon Wednesday. Montez, a former teacher and school psychologist, has served as executive director of the Foundation for Mexican-American Studies, which evaluated Head Start programs for bilingual children.

Compton city offices, the Compton Unified School District and the Compton courthouse will be closed Jan. 21, as will all Los Angeles County offices.

Federal observance of the King holiday will not begin until next year, but city and county agencies can elect to close their offices on either the federally designated holiday, Jan. 21, or on Jan. 15, King’s birthday.