Davis residents pack the Varsity to honor Dr. King
There was not a seat left open in the Varsity Theatre for Davis’ celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Monday.
A standing-room-only crowd of more than 300 people showed up to commemorate the city’s 18th annual celebration on the day dedicated to honor the slain civil rights leader’s birthday and work.
Lecia Brooks, outreach director at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., was the keynote speaker, addressing King’s life and the impact of his work, in addition to how much more work is left to do.
“The SPLC is hard at work, trying to advocate for the rights of marginalized people in our society,” Brooks said. “But are we there yet? We’ve been doing what we’ve been doing since 1971, but have we realized the dream yet? No.
“And we have Dr. King’s immortal words to help us gauge our progress in whether or not we’ve achieved that dream.”
Before Brooks spoke, the Patwin Elementary Chorus — made up of third- through sixth-graders — welcomed guests with several songs.
After the musical welcome, Mayor Joe Krovoza opened the ceremony with comments of his own about the state of equality in Davis.
“Last year I discussed Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and talked about what it meant to me and to our community,” Krovoza said. “I observed that what we protect here in Davis and across the country is the echo of Dr. King.
“We seek to make sure that the echo does not follow the laws of physics, but rather that we work here in our community to amplify and amplify his message over and over.”
Davis High School students Ali Holder and Linnea Lagerstrom told the crowd about students rights at DHS, the culmination of work completed in their Race and Social Justice course.
The final act of the celebration came in the form of a panel discussion titled “Racial Issues Today.”
Mayor Pro Tem Rochelle Swanson moderated the discussion, which included remarks by Brooks; Osahon Ekhator, a member of the Associated Students of UC Davis Senate; Desmond Jolly, a retired agricultural economist at UCD; Winfred Roberson, superintendent of the Davis Joint Unified School District; and Tilahun D. Yilma, a professor of virology at UCD.
“I think it’s important to take note that we don’t live in a post-racial society,” Ekhator said. “By post-racial, I’m describing the rhetoric of people who believe that there are no racial conflicts left. (That) everything is overblown and all of that is over and done with and everything is equal.
“Things aren’t that way; the statistics prove it. If we really think about it, it’s not true. Just because race relations in the United States is better than it’s ever been, doesn’t mean it’s better than it can be.”
Following the ceremony, about 150 people joined a brief Freedom March through downtown Davis, led by the Freedom Singers.
Afterward, Brooks chatted with community members at a meet-and-greet at the Hallmark Inn.
The city of Davis offered a special thank you to the organizations that helped stage the event, including the Davis Human Relations Commission, Davis Media Access, the Davis Vanguard, the Hallmark Inn, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Varsity Theatre.
A handful of local politicians attended the event, including Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena; state Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis; Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis; and Davis City Council members Sue Greenwald, Stephen Souza and Dan Wolk.
Three Davis Freedom Riders who all marched with King in the 1960s — Dick Holdstock, Terry Turner and John Pamperin — also attended the event.
City Public Relations Manager Bob Bowen said Monday’s turnout exceeded expectations.
“This really speaks to the many faces of Davis,” he said. “The next question is whether or not the Human Relations Commission wants to move to a larger theater next year.”
— Reach Tom Sakash at tsakash@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8057. Follow him on Twitter @TomSakash
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=126769
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Posted by Tom Sakash
on Jan 16 2012.
Last Login: Mon 21 May 2012 09:28:43 AM PDT
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