Page 4 January 11, 2018 TORRANCE TRIBUNE
TerriAnn in Torrance
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
2018: Making a Difference
By TerriAnn Ferren
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on
January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, and
tragically assassinated on April 4, 1968 in
Memphis, Tennessee. President Ronald Reagan
signed the American federal holiday that
bears his name into law on Sept. 2, 1983,
and Americans have been celebrating King’s
legacy on the third Monday of January since
Jan. 20, 1986. This year, the holiday falls
precisely on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s exact
birthday. This year, I began thinking about
Martin Luther King Day early.
Jan. 1, 2018 began with the traditional 129th
Annual Tournament of Roses Parade with the
theme Making a Difference. It was said that
the idea for the 2018 theme of the parade
came from the President of the Tournament of
Roses, Lance Tibbet, who while watching his
favorite movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, starring
Jimmy Stewart, decided that Making a Difference
fit perfectly for 2018. Choosing Actor and
Humanitarian Gary Sinise as the 129th Grand
Marshall was a natural fit. The Gary Sinise
Foundation helps countless Veterans and their
families, and he truly lives his foundation’s
mission, “…we serve our nation by honoring
our defenders, veterans, first responders, their
families, and those in need…”
One of the first floats in the line-up of the
Rose Parade was our Torrance float, Protecting
Nature…The Madrona Marsh Preserve, which
received the Mayor’s Trophy (Outstanding
Float from a Participating City) that had a
breathtaking display, depicting the foliage
and animals of the Madrona Marsh Preserve.
Among the riders on the float was its winning
designer, Irene Tsay, a senior at West
Torrance High School.
Then later in the parade, among the marching
bands and equestrian units, was the float
Keeping The Promise, entered by the Aids
Healthcare Foundation, which included a onethird
size replica of the Martin Luther King,
Jr. statue that sits on the mall in Washington,
DC. Because 2018 marks the 50th anniversary
of the death of Martin Luther King in 1968,
this float highlighted his dream of peace,
justice and equality when he said, “Out of
the mountain of despair comes a stone of
hope.” Also on the float rode two of the three
winners of an essay contest who wrote about,
“What are you doing to stand against hate in
your community?” The two float riders were
17-year-old Lilia “Sweet Lily” Sweet King
from Tallahassee, Florida, and 19-year-old
Kibiriti Majuto from Charlottesville, Virginia.
Each float highlighted how people make a
difference either individually or collectively
each and every day. With 2018 just beginning,
and remembering that Martin Luther King Day
is approaching, and believing there is no such
thing as a coincidence, I decided asking two
exceptional men about their thoughts on the
upcoming holiday was in order. Actor, director,
writer and playwright Ted Lange, who played
Isaac on the popular 1970s hit television show
The Loveboat, told me that Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day is a day of remembrance of the
diversity of this nation. He likens our nation to
a bowl of gumbo. Lange said, “This holiday
represents the gift an African-American gave
to all Americans and his philosophy unites
us and satisfies the hunger we have in the pit
of our ignorance to know who we are as a
people…He asked us to judge each other by
the content of our character and bridge the
gap of social differences while we sit at the
same table together and enjoy the gumbo.”
Lange added that the holiday “…reminds
us of the better nature of Americans. The fact
that this day exists points to a time of the
majority embracing the will of the minority…
a willingness to share and fight for honesty,
integrity and fairness. MLK stood for Americans
standing in the light and resisting their
darker nature…” Lange remembers working
as an actor with Martin Luther King’s eldest
daughter, Yolanda, before she died. They did a
few plays together, one of which was a comedy
called Willie and Esther. They performed
together at the National Black Theatre Festival
in Winston/Salem, North Carolina. “Yolanda
had a great sense of comedy and her timing
was flawless,” Lange said. “Yolanda King was
a great actress and an exceptional comedic
talent. I miss her greatly.”
Lange told me that Martin Luther King
inspired him to seek out his talent and cultivate
what he does best. “When you do so,
you are giving a gift to your fellow man,”
he explained. “Sometimes it is a better gift
than money or power. Sharing your gifts and/
or teaching others how to do what you know
can be a gift of legacy to the next generation.”
And with Black History Month being celebrated
in February, Ted Lange will again bring
his play, Lady Patriot to the George Nakano
Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30. Call
the ticket office at 310-781-7171 or access
www.torrancearts.org for more information.
Next, I asked Councilman Milton S. Herring
I about his feeling and thoughts about Martin
Luther King Day. He said the holiday is very
meaningful to him because it fosters better
race relations and encourages community
involvement. Councilman Herring began, “I
was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew
up in Detroit, Michigan. While growing up,
I would spend my summers in Birmingham
during the ‘60s and my grandfather was very
active in the Civil Rights movement. One
summer, he took me to Atlanta, Georgia to
a Southern Christian Leadership Conference
[SCLC], held at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Dr. King spoke and afterwards I went with
my grandfather to shake his hand.” Wow.
Councilman Herring said he thinks to really
appreciate all that Dr. King and other Civil
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
See TerriAnn in Torrance, page 7