School executive urges Modesto crowd to keep MLK dream alive

By ROGER HOSKINS
rhoskins@modbee.com

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Arturo Flores, the superintendent of Modesto City Schools, called on his listeners Monday to keep Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and dream alive.

Flores spoke at the 23rd commemoration of King's life held at the Christian Love Baptist Church in Modesto. About 150 people attended the ceremony, which included music and a film homage to Cesar Chavez.

Flores admonished people to do their best in every endeavor and to remember Kings five cardinal principals:

Modesto Bee - Arturo Flores, Modesto City Schools superintendent, speaks at the 23rd annual commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Christian Love Baptist Church in Modesto, January 21, 2008. (Bart Ah You/The Modesto Bee)

1. Resist evil.

2. Embrace non-violence.

3. Oppose evil.

4. Refuse to hate.

5. Maintain a deep faith in the future.

Flores, a 1968 graduate of Atwater High School who is the son of a farmworker, said many people including himself enjoyed the advantages won by those who led the battle for civil rights.

Quoting King, he said, "Unearned suffering is redemptive." Flores added that even though their causes were personally costly, leaders like King, Chavez and Mother Theresa didnt shrink from the fight.

"They knew their destiny," he said.