Long Beach : Concern Over King Verdicts Cancels Head Start Event
Concern over the aftermath of the Rodney G. King civil rights trial in Los Angeles has resulted in the cancellation of a fund-raiser for a Long Beach Head Start program.
Students and parents in Head Start classes at Drake Park had already sold more than 160 $5 certificates that were to be redeemed this weekend at a park booth for family photo portraits.
But Majestic Marketing Associates, the Tennessee company providing the photographer, decided the assignment was too dangerous. A company administrator, who did not want to be named, said he was concerned over the potential for rioting following the trial.
The money raised would have been used to pay for a graduation ceremony for the 3- and 4-year-olds in the program, parent Pamela Woods said. Head Start would have received $4 for each certificate sold. Head Start is a government-funded preschool program for children with special needs or those from low-income families.
Organizers are trying to reschedule the event and contact families who bought certificates. “It’s not fair to the children for them to suffer from something they had nothing to do with,” Woods said.
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