Martin Luther King’s Goals Subject of Play

In the 1980s, relatives of Mohandas Gandhi created the Season of Non-Violence--a time for people of diverse cultures to come together, put aside their differences and peacefully coexist.

The Season of Non-Violence lasts from February to May. Its message will be brought to the students of North Hollywood High School today when the Southern Art Assembly of Florida presents a play about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s efforts to promote racial harmony.

The play, “King, the Man,” was written in 1989 by Nyna Shannon Andersen for the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. Since then it has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award and received several cultural and arts awards in Los Angeles.

The Southern Art Assembly, which sponsors Season of Non-Violence events across the nation, chose to sponsor the play because it spreads the organization’s message.

“There comes a time to put aside differences--religious, cultural--and come together in peace,” said Gregory Anderson, a spokesman for the assembly. “This play is about a man who dedicated his life to that ideal.”

Anderson said the assembly chose the site of the presentation with a purpose in mind. He said North Hollywood High School, as well as the entire San Fernando Valley, is culturally diverse, more so than most of Los Angeles.

“The Valley is a place where you can actually see the different cultures come together under one roof. It’s a place where you can actually see the unity happen right in front of you,” Anderson said. “Beverly Hills isn’t like that. Crenshaw isn’t like that.”

Along with the play at the school, the assembly is sponsoring performances at other schools in Los Angeles, Orange County and Santa Monica.

For more information about events or the Southern Arts Assembly, call the organization’s Multi-Media Foundation at (818) 594-4009.