Martin Luther King Jr. Day was marked by service projects, events at the Queen Mary and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Efforts to fulfill the goal set by Congress in 1994 of making the holiday a “day on, not a day off,” Leadership Long Beach, a nonprofit that works to better the city and people more engaged in civics, continued its commitment to activating the community through meaningful service and initiatives on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
This was the 16th year Leadership Long Beach organized citywide projects to honor the legacy of the civil rights icon. The nonprofit also partnered with California Volunteers and the Office of the Governor to bring these community projects to the city.
Hundreds of volunteers participated in 15 service projects taking place across Long Beach on Monday. At Junipero Beach, volunteers joined the Algalita Marine Research and Education team to help clean up trash from the city’s waterfront, while others joined the Office of Climate Action and Sustainability in restoring Willow Springs Park.
Other projects involved landscaping, cleaning and the beautification of several neighborhoods. A couple of projects asked folks to donate care packages for those in need or write letters to seniors.
The volunteer organization Big Sunday, meanwhile, conducted its 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Clothing Drive & Community Breakfast at Cienega Elementary School in the West Adams district with a focus on the wildfire victims.
More than 1,500 Big Sunday volunteers assembled more than 20,000 items of clothing into more than 2,025 cold-weather clothing kits, including footwear, according to organizers.
The organization also planned to collect prom dresses and tuxedos for underserved teens.
“We thought long and hard about postponing the MLK event, but, based on the enormous amount of sign-ups, it seems very clear that people are anxious to be together in the name of community, kindness, compassion, helping, unity and love,” David Levinson, Big Sunday’s founder and executive director, said in a statement.
“Monday is also Inauguration Day, and whether one is delighted or devastated by the new administration, we are happy to provide an opportunity for folks to get together to celebrate our differences while finding common ground. We like to think that this is what Dr. King worked so hard for.”
Service opportunities for the 16th annual MLK Day of Service organized by the leadership program Leadership Long Beach included a beach cleanup at Junipero Beach and letter writing to support older adults.
The MLK Volunteer Festival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum conducted by the nonprofit volunteer action center L.A. Works focused on opportunities for participants to support recovery efforts from the wildfires and help impacted families and individuals, honoring King’s legacy by coming together to serve and uplift the community in times of need.
King spoke at the Coliseum in 1964.
The fourth annual Unity Walk in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day took place at Santa Clarita at Central Park with the theme, “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence 365.”
The walk was preceded by a program led by Mayor Bill Miranda that included speakers, musical performances and poetry readings.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition’s 40th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration bore the theme, “Celebrating Women of the Civil Rights Movement.”
The keynote speaker was Sonya Young Aadam, CEO of the California Black Women’s Health Project, which bills itself as the “only statewide, nonprofit organization that is solely committed to improving the health of California’s 1.2 million Black women and girls through advocacy, education, outreach and policy.”
Cerritos’ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Ceremony at the city’s Center for the Performing Arts’ Sierra Room included comments by Cerritos City Council members and a musical performance.
The Queen Mary commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a lecture series, a screening of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and arts and crafts activities.
The keynote address of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s 23rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration was delivered by Dr. Kelvin A. Baggett, focusing on hope, connection and kindness — values that align with King’s vision of equitable health care access for all, according to Cedars-Sinai.
Baggett is senior managing director in transformation and growth at Patient Square Capital, a Palo Alto-based private equity firm. Baggett chairs the EMPIRIC (Excellence in Medicine, Patient Impact Research, Innovation and Care) Institute. The institute, formed in July, focuses on researching, measuring and enhancing patient impact within current and prospective Patient Square portfolio companies.
A Mass commemorating King’s call for service was celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
“Although not a Catholic himself, we recognize his efforts to advance human rights and civil rights as certainly being in keeping with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and completely aligned with the themes of Catholic Social Teaching: the life and dignity of all people, especially in solidarity with the downtrodden, regardless of skin color and other differences,” according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Kingdom Day Parade, which is traditionally on the holiday, was scheduled for Saturday, then postponed until Feb. 17 because of the wildfires. The California African American Museum in Exposition Park also postponed its King Day festivities.
Staff writer Christina Merino and City News Service contributed to this report