Modesto church honors another late leader on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

A tribute Monday to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. featured remembrance as well of a departed faith leader in Modesto.

Christian Love Baptist Church held its 31st annual event for King, who would have turned 90 on Jan. 15. The H Street congregation also honored its own Pastor James Anderson, who died in July at 83. He was known beyond his own church for his work against crime and other social ills.

King was born in Atlanta and assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis. Monday was the national holiday in honor of his work against racism, poverty and war.

Christian Love’s gathering was one of several in the region around King’s birthday. The one at Modesto Junior College will not be until March 30 because the speaker, Michael Eric Dyson, is heavily booked.

Dyson is a sociology professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., a Baptist minister and the author of several books on race. Details on his talk will be provided later.

This story was originally published January 21, 2019 at 3:27 PM.