The 7th Annual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be taking place in Culver City on Sunday, Jan. 15, from 11 am – 7 pm at the Senior Center, addressing the question “Have We Achieved Dr. King’s Dream…?”
The day will be filled with a Panel Discussion, Music, Food, and Activities for the entire family. Committee member Rebecca Rona-Tuttle offered “For those who don’t know, this event will be a wonderful blend: history, fascinating panelists speaking about the theme, speeches by three winners of the CCUSD Martin Luther King Student Speech Contest. (See Post Below) There will also be an interactive spoken word presentation by poet Charlotte Ferrell, and lots of jazz. Even more, we will have a reading of a terrific play, “The Dreamers,” written and directed by a young playwright, Christina Harley. She’s assembled a marvelous cast: Margaret “Shug” Avery, Art Evans, John Marshall Jones, Hugh Dane and Toyin Moses.”
Bill Wynn, another committee member, encouraged the public to attend as well. “This is an important event for our city, and we hope that everyone will come to the Senior Center on Sunday to join in the celebration.”
As the only Caucasian member of the committee, Rona-Tuttle emphasized the national scope of the occasion. “This event will draw many African Americans–of course. But I’m hoping to see just as many celebrants of other ethnicities. Dr. King is our hero too; he’s more than a Black hero, he’s an American hero; he “belongs” to all of us.
For a moment, I’d like to address readers who are not African American. When you come to this event, you will be sending a message to the African Americans around you. You will be telling them that you respect them, that you care about them. That you care about civil rights, social justice and, simply put, fairness. You will be telling them that you find racism abominable. You will be telling them that you realize being African American can be tough and wish it weren’t so. And you will also be telling them you know there’s great beauty and strength in this proud people and their culture.”
For more information call (310) 253-6675
Culver City Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department
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