West Hollywood Among Southland Cities to Pay Tribute To Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday

By City News Service

Parades will be held Saturday in Long Beach and Gardena to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. while other observances will take place in West Hollywood, Culver City, Inglewood and Hawthorne

Long Beach's 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace & Unity Parade Parade and Celebration will begin at 10:30 on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue at Anaheim Street. Its theme is "50 Years Strong & the Dream Lives On."

The parade will proceed north on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, east on 19th Street and north on Lemon Avenue.

Gardena will hold its 41st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Celebration. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Marine and Van Ness avenues and head north, concluding at Rowley Park where festivities will continue throughout the day.

West Hollywood will conduct a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at West Hollywood Elementary School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers will perform landscaping, clean up and painting tasks that require physical work for a six- hour shift. Volunteers must be at least 12 years old and register in advance. More information is available by emailing wehovcorps@gmail.com or by calling (323) 848-6885.

Culver City's ninth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Culver City Senior Center. Its theme will be "What did Dr. King Say? And what will we do?" The celebration will feature a screening of the rarely shown 1970 Oscar-nominated documentary, "King: A Filmed Record... From Montgomery to Memphis."

Michael Bernard Beckwith, the spiritual director of the Culver City- based Agape International Spiritual Center, will make the keynote presentation. The celebration will also include a panel discussion on the impact of King's legacy; a dramatic rendition of King's "I Have a Dream" speech; and the debut of a public service announcement "Ways to Practice Nonviolence," created by members of the Culver City Teen Center.

Inglewood's 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration will be held at Crozier Middle School. A commemorative service starting at 9 a.m. will have the theme "Walking in These Shoes" -- and feature performances by local choirs and community groups and participation by elected officials.

The celebration will conclude with speeches from winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech contest . A family festival with entertainment and interactive games will begin at 11 a.m.

A Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Public Forum, "Building Upon The Dream: Working Together to Create Dr. King's Beloved Community," will be held at the Hawthorne Memorial Center from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

The featured speaker will be Donzaleigh Abernathy, a daughter of the late Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, a close associate of King's with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.