County Will Remember Martin Luther King Jr.

People across Ventura County will observe Monday’s birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with gospel and soul music, a Freedom March and by learning more about the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

The scheduled celebrations begin today with musicians playing at Ventura Harbor, and will end Monday in Simi Valley with a film about race and civil rights.

On Monday, the Freedom March is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. at the Plaza Park on the corner of 5th and C streets in Oxnard. The procession, led by the Oxnard High School Band, will head to the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.

Before the march, elected officials, spiritual leaders and residents will gather at Plaza Park for an 8 a.m. prayer. For those who wish to participate in the march, transportation is available from the Oxnard Performing Arts Center to Plaza Park.

Since its inception in 1986, the march has drawn about 500 people every year and has been canceled only once--Jan. 17, 1994--because of the Northridge earthquake.

At the arts center, marchers will listen to gospel music, scriptures and keynote speaker Diane Miller, president of the Los Angeles Women’s Legislative Coalition.

Although the march is free, the program at the Performing Arts Center costs $3; tickets are available at the box office.

The Ventura Harbor Village will celebrate the slain civil rights leader’s birthday with a musical concert series.

Performing today will be jazz musician Henry Franklin, who has recorded six records and played with Stevie Wonder and Jazz World; on Sunday, the Santa Barbara-based, five-member band Blue Moon will play soul tunes.

And Jazz Soup, a local band, will play blues and jazz on Monday. All programs will run from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

In addition, singer and songwriter Chic Streetman will perform at the Ventura College Theater at 8 p.m. today. Streetman, a guitarist, will play and sing tunes related to peace.

Before the concert, the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Ventura County will hold an opening reception at 7:30 p.m. in the theater lobby.

In Simi Valley on Monday, the Simi-Conejo Chapter of the National Organization for Women will show the documentary “The Fire This Time” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Beverage Company.

The film, which is free of charge, looks at the roots of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and includes testimonies of several central Los Angeles residents who lived in the area during the devastating event.

The riots were touched off after a Ventura County jury in Simi Valley acquitted several Los Angeles police officers in the beating of motorist Rodney King.

“We’re showing this film to remind and educate people about the unfinished work of the civil rights movement, and in support of that ongoing struggle against oppression,” said Paige Moser, a spokeswoman for the organization.

The documentary, which was written, directed and produced by Randy Holland, has been featured in film festivals and garnered awards, including the Gold Apple Award at the 1994 National Educational Video Festival.