Online event will carry on annual tributes to Martin Luther King Jr. in Modesto area
Modesto-area admirers of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. can view an online version of the usual birthday tributes.
It will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18, from Revival Center Modesto on Seventh Street. COVID-19 rules mean no large live audience, but the public can watch along on the church’s YouTube channel.
Jan. 18 is the national holiday this year for the civil rights leader. He was born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta and assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis. King was in the latter city to support Black sanitation workers, part of his nonviolent crusade against racism and poverty.
Monday’s interfaith event will substitute for two long-standing observances of King’s birthday. One is the luncheon held for 28 years at the King-Kennedy Memorial Center. The other is the service held for 33 years at Christian Love Baptist Church.
Monday’s keynote speaker will be Wendy Byrd, president of the NAACP Modesto/Stanislaus Branch. Her topic is “Still Standing: The Dream Lives On.”
The 2021 observance follows a year of renewed attention to police treatment of minorities. Thousands of people protested in and near Modesto following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Monday’s event features a presentation on the Modesto Police Clergy Council, which works with faith leaders to address tensions. Other highlights of the program:
- The Negro National Anthem, sung by Sheelah Grant Williams
- “I Have a Dream” speech, recited by Jakhi Nichols
- Remarks by Mani Grewal, the first Sikh member of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, and board colleague Terry Withrow
- Sheriff Jeff Dirkse
- Interim Chief Brandon Gillespie of the Modesto Police Department
- Rabbi Shalom Bochner of Congregation Beth Shalom.
The Rev. Jeremiah Williams will be master of ceremonies. A recording of the service will be on the Revival Center website, www.revivalcenterca.com.
The pandemic disrupted another longtime event, the MLK Commemoration at Modesto Junior College. The Modesto Peace/Life Center and its co-sponsors are planning a February program but have not announced details.
In Sonora, COVID-19 canceled the 2021 version of the observance held since 1995 by the Motherlode Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
