OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and despite the pandemic, Oakland continued its longest-running celebration of the civil rights leader s life.
The 29th annual Keeping the Dream Alive multicultural rally was held virtually. Representative Barbara Lee, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown were among the speakers.
This year, the pandemic has forced the cancellation of many in-person events in the Bay Area like the annual MLK Celebration Train from San Jose to San Francisco and March to Yerba Buena Gardens.
Instead, the Norcal MLK Foundation is pivoting to a virtual celebration with a Health and Wellness and Music Festival. The events will reflect on a year following the police killings of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and Black Lives Matter protests.
Music, food and service.a celebration fit for a King. We wanted to bring the community together to honor his life, his legacy not just by watching TV or having a day off but by truly serving, said Ryan Ray, Year of the Black Entrepreneur visionary.
Cars started lining up at 6 a.m. on Monday to receive their boxes of food. It s easy to take for granted in our own comfort zone and you have a meal at your table and you aren t looking for your next meal. But so many people are in need, Ray said.
And hundreds of families were served with 29,000 pounds of food donated from the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
The program also will provide businesses with access to grant opportunities, assistance accessing Payroll Protection Program loans, networking events and future initiatives put together by the Sixers.
Black-owned businesses in the Philly region average less than a third of the annual sales of white-owned businesses, according to the 76ers.
During the public health crisis, 28% of Black-owned businesses were in industries with the largest total job losses compared to 20% of white-owned businesses. Between February and April last year, 41% of Black-owned businesses had to close compared to just 17% of white-owned businesses. It’s important that we acknowledge past policies, such as lending discrimination and segregation, that have kept Black business owners from accessing the investment and customer base that will help them grow and succeed, 76ers Chief Diversity and Impact Officer David Gould said.
Seminole County teacher uses current events to continue Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy
Winter Springs HS teacher: Educators should teach students how to bring community together
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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – For students of Joe Cummiskey’s history class, learning about the contributions Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made means also learning how students can impact society in a positive way.
“The concern is the world we live in. How do we justify burning a city? How do we justify innocent police officers being executed? How do we justify that people wake up in the morning and feel they’re gonna be judged differently because of the color of their skin?” asked Cummiskey, a history teacher at Winter Springs High School who focuses on politics, government and U.S. history.