MLK Weekend Activities
“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
The 2018 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration, “Living the Dream for All, Every Day in Every Way,” features a variety of events Jan. 12–15 in Fresno and Clovis. The celebration is organized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Unity Committee of Fresno.
Opening Garlanding Ceremony. Jan. 12, 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m., Fresno County Courthouse Park, 1100 Van Ness Ave. Guest speaker: Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) Superintendent Bob Nelson. FUSD students performing dance and song in honor of MLK. Contacts: Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor at 559-801-8189 or Gail Gaston at 559-681-3140.
Awards Ceremony and Community Reception. Jan. 12, 5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m., Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno St. FUSD Trustee Cal Johnson, State Center Community College Trustee Miguel Arias and the Fresno Center for Nonviolence will be awarded for outstanding service to the community. Contact: Eric Payne at 559-242-0641 or Summer Gaston- Gehris at 559-301-5466.
Candlelight Vigil. Jan. 12, 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno St. Contacts: Gail Gaston at 559-681-3140 or Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor at 559- 801-8189.
Community Breakfast. Jan. 13, breakfast served at 9 a.m., program at 9:45 a.m., Clovis Veterans Memorial Building, 808 4th St., Clovis. Speaker: Clovis City Council Member Vong Mouanoutoua. Singing from local community choirs. Tickets: $5 in advance and canned food donation; table of eight $40 with an advance reservation. Contact: Erin Ford-Horio at 559-324-2476 or erinf@cityofclovis.com.
March. Jan. 15, 9:15 a.m.– 10:45 a.m., Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno St. Marchers assemble at 9:30 a.m.; march begins at 10:15 a.m., ending at the Fresno Convention Center. Contacts: James Lett III at 559-284-6420, Enrique Reade at 559-940-2159 or Gail Gaston at 559-681-3140.
Commemoration Program. Jan. 15, 11 a.m.–noon, Fresno Convention Center, 848 M St. Master of Ceremonies is ABC 30. Special guest speakers, cultural dancers and singing to celebrate our communities’ diversity and culture in commemoration to the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contact: Raymond Eddy at 559-621-1520.
MLK-Related Events
Other events in the Fresno area include the following:
West Fresno Ministerial Alliance Prayer Breakfast. Jan. 11, 6:30 a.m.–9 a.m., Westside Church of God, 1424 W. California Ave. Tickets: $25; table of eight for $180 with an advance reservation. Contact: Audrey Redmond at 559-213-5925.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thematic Exploration Program. Jan. 14, 3 p.m., Corinth Baptist Church, 2377 S. Ivy Ave. This event focuses on the life and times of the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his life as a pastor and a man of Christ, and his service to all people and will include words of encouragement from community leaders of how Dr. King’s life and ministry has inspired them. Contact: Bishop John Sims at 559-512-9836.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemoration. Jan. 18, noon–1 p.m., Fresno State Peace Garden-African American Programs and Services. Contact the Cross Cultural and Gender Center at 559-278-4435.
Fresno County Office of Education MLK Artwork Exhibition. Feb. 6–13, Clovis Veterans Memorial District. Reception for winning artist with essays and speeches on Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
Fresno Women’s March
Women’s March Fresno, an affiliate of Women’s March California, a coalition of sister marches across California, will host Hear Our Vote on Jan. 20 as an anniversary march of the first Women’s March that occurred on Inauguration Weekend in 2017.
The keynote speaker will be distinguished labor activist and local Central Valley resident Dolores Huerta.
“We are stronger in solidarity,” says co-organizer Sarah Bentley, “and look forward to celebrating the women of the Central Valley, rallying for social change and coming together during a time where we need it more than ever.”
The 2018 Women’s March will take place on Jan. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Nees and Blackstone avenues (between the River Park and Villagio shopping centers).
Women’s March is a female-led movement providing intersectional education on a range of issues and creating entry points for new grassroots activists and organizers to engage with/in their local communities through training, outreach programs and events. Its mission is to harness the political power of women and their communities to create transformative social change.
The Women’s March events are nonpartisan and peaceful and will give people the opportunity to unite in every state and major metropolitan area to stand in solidarity for the American values we represent.
For more information, contact Kim Slavan at fresnowomensmarch@gmail.com.
Interfaith Scholar Weekend
Interfaith Scholar Weekend presents three days of events under the theme “Just Sustainability: Religion, Pluralism and Care for Our Common Home” at various locations in Fresno on Jan. 19–21. The keynote speaker is Dr. Christiana Zenner Peppard.
Dr. Peppard is an expert on the emerging ethics of fresh water and problems of climate change, social justice and sustainability. She is the author of Just Water: Theology, Ethics and the Global Water Crisis. She is passionate about facilitating discourse on the multiple values of water in an era of economic globalization.
Opening Lecture. Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m., Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, 2111 Nees Ave. “Water, Religious Values and Sustainability.”
Lectures. Jan. 20, Temple Beth Israel, 6622 N. Maroa Ave. 9 a.m.: “Climate Change, Water and Religion: Questions of Justice?” 10:45 a.m.: “Water: Human Right, Economic Commodity, Natural Resource or…?” 1 p.m.: “The Agriculture-Water Nexus and Interfaith Imagination.”
Sermon. Jan. 21, 11 a.m., St. James Episcopal Cathedral, 4147 E. Dakota Ave.
Registration is required for the Saturday lectures only. All are welcome to attend the events on Friday evening and Sunday morning. For more information, visit www.interfaithscholar.org or call 559-435-2690.
