Oxnard—The 40th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration kicked off at 8 a.m. at Plaza Park, with the annual march being held Monday, January 19. The march proceeded to the Oxnard Performing Arts Center for a remembrance ceremony.
THIS year’s theme was “Cultivating Compassion and Justice in Ventura County.” The Keynote speaker was Dr. Gaye Theresa Johnson, Director of the Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The day was complete with love, compassion, equality for all, and, as Dr. King preached, peace.
Mistress of Ceremonies Helaine Stallion thinks the 40th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Day is a major milestone.
“The MLK Committee has been outstanding,” she said. “To be able to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday is exciting and personal, especially for African-American people, because he did so much, not just for the African-American people, but for all of us.”
She said that when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, it was the first step of equality.
“Why not, just everyone gets on the bus and gets a seat,” she said. “Does it matter, the color of your skin? We all bleed red. When…
