“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” is the theme for Culver City’s 10th Annual Celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The day-long celebration will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17 beginning at11 a.m. at the Culver City Senior Center located at 4095 Overland Ave. in Culver City. The event is free and open to the public and will feature the film “Freedom Summer,” directed by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Earl Nelson, Jr.
Other activities during Culver City’s King Day celebration include a panel discussion on the current atmosphere of our justice system in America as it pertains to the Dr. King’s legacy; a dramatic rendition of Dr. King’s “I have a Dream Speech” by actor Gerald C. Rivers; and a special performance by 7th and 8th graders from Ocean Charter School playing authentic djembe drums from West Africa as a tribute to Dr. King.
Bilson and Saundra Davis, Co-Founders of the Culver City Dr. King Celebration Committee, will co-host the day’s activities.
“Over the past decade, the City has looked forward to hosting this annual community-led celebration to honor the work of Dr. King. Culver City values diversity and is fortunate to be able to bring people together for this important educational, social, and cultural program,” said Culver City Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells.
The featured film “Freedom Summer” highlights an overlooked but essential element of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement: the patient and long-term efforts by outside activists and local citizens in Mississippi to organize communities and register black voters — even in the face of intimidation, physical violence and death.
“The Freedom Summer” story reminds us that the movement that ended segregation was far more complex than most of us know,” Executive Producer of “American Experience” which aired “Freedom Summer” on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Mark Samels said
In 1964, a new plan hatched by Bob Moses, a local secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was implemented. For 10 weeks that summer, white students from the North would join activists on the ground for a massive effort that would do what had been impossible so far – force the media and the country to take notice of the shocking violence and massive injustice taking place in Mississippi.
Culver City’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. event will feature a panel discussion moderated by KPFK’s Sojourner Truth Show host, Margaret Prescod and panelists Tom Hayden, former State Senator; Kokayi Kwa Jitahidi, Community Activist; Robert (Bobby) Grace, Los Angeles County Prosecutor; Robert C. Farrell, former Los Angeles City Councilmember; and Funmilola Fagbamila, graduate student of African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
For more information on Culver City’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, persons interested can call (310) 253-6675 or visit www.culvercity.org