Two-Week Celebration of King’s Legacy Begins in L.A.

A festival to honor the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. opened Thursday morning with hand-clapping, shoulder-rocking music and the support of politicians and religious and community leaders.

In the first of a series of events scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Martin Luther King Legacy Assn. announced plans for the celebration, now in its 22nd year.

“This is my favorite time of the year, when all we have to do is lift up King because people forget,” said Genethia Hayes, SCLC’s Los Angeles branch director. “We get a chance to focus the whole city on it.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was among those at the podium, as was Bishop E. Lynn Brown of the 9th Christian Methodist Episcopal District. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) sent a letter expressing her good wishes for the success of the event.

SCLC was founded by King, and the Legacy Assn. is its nonprofit social service component. Under the theme “We Still Have a Dream,” the two-week festival will include the Rosa Parks Center Gospel Fest, an interfaith prayer breakfast, a Martin Luther King Jr. birthday dinner and a peace rally.

Bradley Court in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw Plaza, where the kickoff was held, rang with a spirited rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” performed by the Maranatha Community Youth Choir.

Ea Williams, 29, a receptionist, sang with the choir and later spoke of what King’s legacy has meant to her.

“I wouldn’t have as many opportunities as I have today,” she said. “A lot of doors have been opened because of him.”

Shirley Stowe, 49, an education consultant, said that if King were alive, he might say there is still a long way to go.

“We’ve had unrest among cultures--that was what he was trying to say shouldn’t happen,” she said.

Among the nearly 100 spectators, nearby resident Zetha Washington, a retired nurse, was thoughtful about King’s legacy.

“His dream is going along fairly well, but it could be better,” she said. “He was our trailblazer, not only for the black people but all colors.”

For information, contact Pat Tobin, (323) 856-0827, or Wendy R. Gladney, event coordinator, (213) 920-0438.