Churches, Schools Will Honor King

Young orators who never knew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will read his speeches, and those who marched alongside him will tell their tales during the San Gabriel Valley’s observances of Martin Luther King Day.

Although the holiday officially falls on Monday, nearly a week’s worth of celebrations are planned, including performances by youth choirs and an address Thursday by civil rights activist and former Georgia state Sen. Julian Bond.

Today, several local churches will recognize King’s spiritual and political contributions.

Rev. James M. Lawson, pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, will discuss King as a man of religion at Occidental College’s Herrick Memorial Chapel and Interfaith Center in Eagle Rock. Lawson joined King in demonstrations in the 1960s. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m.

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pomona will host an interfaith community tribute to King’s life and legacy. “Keeping the Dream Alive: The Struggle Continues” will feature keynote speaker Robert Edgar, president of the Claremont School of Theology. The Cal Poly Pomona Youth Gospel Choir will sing spirituals. The ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. at 1150 W. Holt Ave., Pomona.

In observance of the holiday, the All Canterbury Choir will sing at Pasadena’s All Saints Episcopal Church at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday. The program is titled “Martin Luther King Jr. and the Challenge of Peace.” The church is at 132 N. Euclid Ave.

On Monday, local schools and community organizations will hold a variety of events.

Occidental College will cancel classes and hold events on campus to commemorate the holiday. College President John B. Slaughter will speak at an all-campus forum devoted to the topic of community at 9:30 a.m. in Thorne Hall. A dramatic musical tribute to King will be presented at 1 p.m. From 2 to 3 p.m., biology professor Jon Keeley will present a slide lecture on his recent year in South Africa.

Harvey Mudd College in Claremont has scheduled an open discussion titled “Shadows on Dr. King’s Dream,” featuring James Lowell Gibbs Jr., centennial professor of anthropology at Stanford University. The event will begin at 4:15 p.m. in the Green Room of the Joseph B. Platt Campus Center at Harvey Mudd College. Earlier in the day, Gibbs will share his own reflections on King at 12:15 p.m. in the Galileo Auditorium on campus.

Mayors of six San Gabriel Valley cities will take part in a special program at the Plummer Community Center Building, 245 E. Bonita Ave., San Dimas. One of the keynote speakers will be Dr. Ernest Smith of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. The Cal Poly Pomona Youth Gospel Choir will provide music, and education and job opportunity booths will offer free services. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Young orators at noon Monday will read King’s major speeches at the San Gabriel Valley branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People at the Murph Chapel African Methodist Church, 1381 S. Pass & Covina Road, Valinda. The Nysh Shenay of Nu Vision Gospel Group will sing gospel songs.

On Thursday, Bond will speak on “Civil Rights: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” at Claremont McKenna College. Bond, who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and six years in Georgia’s state Senate, will speak at the college’s Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at 7 p.m.