MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY ACTIVITIES : Gardena to celebrate the memory of civil rights leader for 20th year

When Arthur Johnson asked Gardena officials 20 years ago to commemorate the birth of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was a little ahead of his time.

Johnson, who had joined throngs of Southerners during bus boycotts and sit-ins in the 1950s, was a member of Gardena’s relatively small black community and appeared alone before the City Council to make his request.

But his idea drew support, and in 1973, 14 years before the date would be made a federal holiday, Gardena officials agreed to recognize King’s birthday. This weekend, the city will mark the 20th of its annual celebrations of King’s life and works with three days of events including a film festival, parade and memorial service.

“We were the first city west of the Mississippi to start this sort of program,” said Johnson, now a city planning commissioner.

King, born on Jan. 18, 1929, began his work as a Montgomery preacher and won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to gain black civil rights through nonviolent protest. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, by James Earl Ray. The theme for Gardena’s commemorative weekend is “Peace Among Humanity.”

“(The event) really involves the whole community,” said Rosemary Taylor, chairwoman of Dr. King Cultural Committee of Gardena. “We invite every cultural group that we can because Dr. King was a man for all colors of people, he wasn’t just fighting for one group.”

The program begins at 6 tonight at Rowley Park, 13220 S. Van Ness Ave., with a film festival of documentaries and clips recounting King’s times. A program highlighting the musical, dramatic and artistic talents of Gardena’s youth will take place after the 7 p.m. screening.

On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) will be grand marshal for the eighth annual community parade beginning at 10 a.m. Gardena officials will join marching bands, drum corps, dance troupes, drill teams and baton twirlers from cities throughout the South Bay. The parade route runs from City Hall west on 162nd Street, north on Western Avenue, west on Marine Avenue and north on Van Ness Avenue to Rowley Park.

Parade-goers following the route to the park will be greeted by a festival featuring a variety of musical entertainment and vendor booths selling everything from food to books, T-shirts and art. The fair runs from about 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The 20th annual commemorative service for King will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Nakaoka Memorial Community Center, 1700 W. 162nd St. Additional services Sunday morning at Hollypark United Methodist Church, 13000 S. Van Ness Ave., will be followed by a potluck lunch at the church.

Other South Bay activities marking King’s birthday include drama, choir and drill team performances at the Carson Community Center on Jan. 17 and a symbolic march Jan. 18 in Inglewood. The march, led by Quincy Watts, an Olympic gold medalist and Inglewood resident, will recall King’s peaceful protests. Members of civic, church, community and school organizations plan to sing “We Shall Overcome” during the half-mile walk from Hollywood Park to the First Church of God, at 9550 S. Crenshaw.

The 10th annual event, expected to draw up to 3,500 people, represents a dedication to King’s ideals, a city spokeswoman said. Arthur Johnson agrees.

“Even though he is dead and was murdered as he was, his dream and his work must carry on,” Johnson said. “And that’s what we’re trying to do.”