The Dream Survives : Parades and programs will mark the legacy of Martin Luther King

The recent decision by the Riverside School Board to name a new high school after Martin Luther King Jr. can be seen as evidence that the civil rights leader’s legacy is still alive nearly 30 years after his assassination.

King, born 69 years ago today, is honored with a national holiday on Monday, and Southern California is playing its part all weekend with parades, concerts, museum events and more. Here’s a sampling:

Rosa Parks, who made history 43 years ago when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., will be honored today at USC. The university’s 17th annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day, which carries the theme “One Person Can Make a Change,” begins at noon. Parks will speak and receive a commemorative plaque at the ceremony. There will also be music and dance performances.

The event will conclude with the laying of a flower wreath on the Martin Luther King Memorial on the USC campus. The ceremony will be at the Hahn Plaza fountain in the University Park campus center. USC is bounded by Vermont Avenue, Jefferson and Exposition boulevards and Figueroa Street. Free. (213) 740-3636.

Also at USC, the DiverSCity Programs, a project of the Division of Student Affairs, will present National Days of Dialogue on Race Relations. This is a nationally coordinated effort to have local communities take part in discussions to increase understanding among racial and ethnic groups.

Today’s dialogue, sponsored by the United Ministry and Civic & Community Relations and moderated by facilitators Temille Porter and David Crandall of USC, will be held at the University Religious Center, Room 103. 1:30 p.m. Free.

Friday’s dialogue will be at the Hillel Jewish Center and will be moderated by representatives from the L.A. city attorney’s office. 3 p.m. 3300 S. Hoover St. (213) 740-6775.

Beginning today at 11 a.m., the California African-American Museum will screen “The Meeting,” (1989), Jeff Stetson’s drama portraying an imagined meeting between King and Malcolm X. The movie, which premiered on KCET-TV, explores what might have happened to the civil rights movement had they joined forces. Running time: 70 minutes. Today at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Saturday and Monday at noon and 2 p.m.; Feb. 8 at 1 and 3 p.m. 600 Exposition Blvd. (213) 744-2084. Free.

Friday, Two Roads Theatre presents its concert version of “King, the Man,” Nyna Shannon Andersen’s musical based on the life of the civil rights leader. 8 p.m. Also Saturdays at 8 p.m. Ends Jan. 24. 4348 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. $12. (818) 997-4459.

Another production based on King’s life, “Dreamers,” opens Jan. 29 at the Inglewood Playhouse and tells the story of an African American family inspired to fulfill its dreams after King’s death. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. Ends March 7. Edward Vincent Jr. Park, 700 Warren Lane. $12 at the door. (310) 412-5451.

Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department hosts the sixth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Watts Community Image Awards honoring Chief Bernard Parks. 5 p.m. Grant AME Church, 10435 S. Central Ave. Free. (213) 295-8582.

Long Beach will hold its 10th annual Birthday Unity Parade and Celebration Saturday, starting with a parade at 10:30 a.m. that begins at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and 10th Street. A celebration with a children’s carnival, food, merchandise, musical entertainment and information booths will commence immediately after the parade in King Park, 1950 Lemon Ave. Free. (562) 570-6816.

Kids can learn about King’s message at the Los Angeles Children’s Museum on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, when storyteller Marilyn McConnie presents “From Darkness to Light: Stories About Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Noon and 2 p.m. All day Saturday, Sunday and Monday, children can lend their hands to the “I Have a Dream Mural” in the museum’s Recycle Art Studio. 310 N. Main St., downtown. Museum hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and special holiday hours this Monday only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Children 2 and older and adults, $5. (213) 687-8800.

Pasadena’s Kidspace Museum will also have special holiday hours Monday. In an ongoing workshop, “What Does Freedom Mean to You?,” children can learn about what flags mean and construct their own freedom flags. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adults and children ages 2 and over, $5; seniors, $3.50; children 1 to 2, $2.50; children under 1, free. 390 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. (626) 449-9144.

Sunday afternoon, USC hosts the 1998 Pan Hellenic Chorus 13th annual Commemorative Concert featuring the Alpha Kappa Alpha Chorus and the Delta Choralairs. 4 p.m. Bovard Auditorium, Childs Way and Trousdale Parkway, USC campus. Free. (310) 243-2463.

Inglewood and Crenshaw have parades on Monday, the official national holiday. Inglewood’s annual parade begins at 8 a.m. at Hollywood Park, Gate 8 (at 90th Street and Kareem Court). Grand marshals are actor William Allen Young, sportscaster Jim Hill and KJLH’s Jack Stevens. Participants will march down 90th Street to Crenshaw Boulevard to the First Church of God for a service at 10 a.m. 9550 Crenshaw Boulevard at Hardy Street. (310) 677-1121 or (310) 412-5301.

Crenshaw’s 13th annual Kingdom Day Parade begins at 11 a.m. at theintersection of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King boulevards with Bernard Parks as grand marshal, marching bands and an expected 5,000 participants. The parade will move down Martin Luther King Boulevard to Western Avenue. (213) 299-1234.

Immediately after the Crenshaw parade, Leimert Park will host its first Street Faire in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr. with readings, entertainment and food vendors. People are invited to dress as their favorite freedom fighters. At 6 p.m., there will be a Kwanzaa ceremony celebrating the first principle of the religion: umoja, or unity. Free. (213) 294-3229.

Santa Monica College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, one of the largest in Southern California, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday. Sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition, a nonprofit coalition of more than 40 community organizations, this multiethnic interfaith program will include inspirational readings, music, presentation of scholarships and recognition of community leaders. Joe R. Hicks, director of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission, will be the keynote speaker, and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is expected to attend. A community involvement fair and reception will follow. Santa Monica College Pavilion, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 314-2188.

At the Museum of Tolerance, the Board of Directors of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation will honor the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by unveiling the design for a Black Patriots Memorial to be constructed on the mall in Washington, D.C., in 2000. A U.S. Mint black patriots commemorative coin will also be introduced at the ceremony, which takes place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Monday. Invited guests include U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and actor Ossie Davis, national spokesman for the foundation. 9786 W. Pico Blvd. Free. (213) 485-4749 for required reservations.

Also on Monday, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference presents its Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Dinner Celebration at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 S. Figueroa St. Honorees are Barbara Solomon, vice provost of USC; Michael Teague, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission; Mark Savage, managing attorney of Public Advocates; the Rev. Joseph Lowrey, president of SCLC National; Tammy Bird, founder of Food From the Hood; William Julius Wilson, Kennedy Chair in the Public Policy department, Harvard University; and Harry Carpenter, manager of Southern California Edison. Tickets $150 to $500. Reception 6:30 p.m. Dinner 7:30 p.m. (213) 290-4110.

An alternative to the many events is to stay at home, avoid the crowds and watch two programs of note about King’s life. A&E;’s popular “Biography” premieres “Martin Luther King Jr.: The Man and the Dream” at 5 and 9 p.m. Monday. This in-depth look at the leader focuses on his personal relationships: with his father, fellow civil rights activists and with the women in his life.

On the heels of last year’s announcement by King’s family that they do not believe James Earl Ray to be King’s assassin, the History Channel will air a 90-minute special on alternative assassination theories: “Who Killed Martin Luther King?” at 6 and 10 p.m. Monday.

Student winners of the countywide Martin Luther King Jr. Art and Essay Contest will be recognized Jan. 24 at 1:30 p.m. School-age children were asked to write essays or submit art relating to the theme “Education: What Is Its Goal?” Entries were to reflect King’s philosophy. Medals and King memorabilia will be awarded to winners at the Department of Water & Power, 111 N. Hope St. Free. (213) 295-KING.

Finally, on Jan. 25, the Youth Empowerment Project will hold a reception and photo exhibition from 1 to 4 p.m. at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The project, a branch of the Martin Luther King Legacy Foundation, is a jobs skills, training and mentoring program that this year inaugurated the “Experiment in Entrepreneurship.”

Seven youths organized, financed, produced and marketed a 1998 calendar featuring photos and artwork depicting what is beautiful about South-Central L.A. Photos and artwork from the calendar will be on display and calendars will be available for purchase. 3650 Martin Luther King Blvd. (213) 735-2295.