The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 12, 2017 Inglewood to Honor MLK During 34th Annual Festival By Cristian Vasquez with one another was so essential. Knowing The 34th Annual Dr. Martin Luther about him brings unity and without unity, King, Jr. Day Celebration will take place then it’s pointless.” on Monday, January 16 beginning at 9 Just four days after his assassination, a.m. with a commemorative program to be legislation was introduced to create a hosted at The Tabernacle, located at 321 N. commemorative holiday for Dr. King. Eucalyptus Avenue. This year, as in the past, However, the bill would be stalled leading the City’s celebration will include speeches to petitions with millions of names asking from elementary, middle and high school for a holiday being submitted to Congress. students, as well as keynote speakers, gospel choirs and a family festival. Following the opening ceremonies at “Just by simply changing Tabernacle a symbolic civil rights march will the way people interacted with one take place beginning at 11 a.m. Designed another was so essential. Knowing to slightly recreate the civil rights marches about him brings unity and without of the 1950s and 1960s, participants will be unity, then it’s pointless.” led from The Tabernacle, walk toward--and then on--Manchester Boulevard with the goal of reaching The Fabulous Forum (corner of Manchester Boulevard and Prairie Avenue). The annual public celebration dedicated to remembering the legacy of the civil rights icon will include the attendance of Inglewood elected officials and department heads, along with KJLH radio personality and Master of Ceremonies Kevin Nash, actress Saniyya Sidney from Fences and Hidden Figures, as well as actor and Grand Marshall Donnell Turner (General Hospital). There will be performances by the Heritage Music Foundation Chorale and dance ensemble Glad II, under the theme “Building Bridges: Embracing Our Diversity.” Also scheduled to attend the day’s celebration as special guests are the Buffalo Soldiers, Tuskegee Airmen, and Montford Point Marines. “He changed so many things,” Inglewood resident Sarah Maldonado said. “Just by simply changing the way people interacted By 1982 and 1983, public pressure kept growing with civil rights marches taking place in Washington. At the federal level, legislation was passed in 1983 under President Ronald Reagan to make Dr. King’s birthday a federal holiday. However, the law took three years to take effect, with some states opting to not observe the national holiday until as late as 1991. Utah became the last state to officially observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2000, by naming its former Human Rights Day state holiday. That same year South Carolina became the last state to make MLK Day a paid holiday for all state employees--which up until that point state employees could pick between celebrating it or one of three Confederate-related holidays. However, in California, Dr. King’s birthday has been observed since its inception at the national level. The celebration organized and hosted by the City, along with the Inglewood Unified School District and other sponsors, highlighted to Maldonado the need for individuals to take a more active approach to honoring the slain civil rights leader’s legacy. “I feel like they [teachers] mostly emphasized the day throughout elementary and middle school, but in high school it seems like it was just brought it up,” Maldonado, who graduated high school last year, said. “If you had a good teacher, they might spend time talking about it in detail, but it mostly was just an acknowledgement of the day.” This year’s Dr. King celebration coordinates with President Barack Obama’s last week in the White House--a transition that highlights to Maldonado just how important the efforts of the civil rights era were, and continue to be, even today. “It shows how much his life changed the country. In history class they teach you certain things like his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech…but if it weren’t for all that he did, who knows if it [President Obama] would have happened,” Maldonado said. “Dr. King’s life shows that you have to set goals and step outside the box and not just do what everyone else is doing. If you do that, then you can accomplish a lot not just during your time but in the future by being influential.” The day’s activities will continue at the Fabulous Forum with commercial vendors, interactive games, food and live entertainment. Persons interested can obtain more information about Inglewood’s King Day Celebration by calling (310) 412-8750 or by visiting the City’s website at www. cityofinglewood.org. The event is free. • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................3 Community Briefs...............3 Finance..................................7 Food.......................................5 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................8 Seniors..................................2 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Mostly Sunny 61˚/49˚ Saturday Sunny 69˚/49˚ Sunday Partly Cloudy 68˚/50˚ Wintertime in the South Bay A view from nearby Torrance shows the snow-peaked Angeles National Forest/San Gabriel Mountains in the background. Winter is here! Photo by Peter Thornton
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