Modesto community members honor MLK at birthday celebration
What are you doing to further the message of the Rev. King?
This was the question Michael Baldwin Sr., the Martin Luther King Celebration Luncheon’s keynote speaker, wanted to leave with his fellow community members Friday.
On Friday, three days before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday will be celebrated, the King-Kennedy Memorial Center Board of Directors hosted its annual MLK Celebration Luncheon. City council members, local NAACP leaders, staff members of the Legacy Alliance Outreach program and others attended the event. Nearly every table was filled.
After the celebration began, Terrence Lane sang “A Change Is Gonna Come” to a karaoke track for the enthusiastic crowd.
“Whenever we get a chance to be reminded of the message, and the life of Dr. King, it’s a chance for us to change course, to change direction, to walk with motivation and purpose,” Baldwin said. “Because together and only together can we be the dream.”
Many community members received awards for their work with the center, including retired director Tommie Muhammad.
“Michael came to Modesto and set this valley on fire,” Audrey Spearman, King-Kennedy Memorial Center board member and emcee for the event, said as she introduced the keynote speaker. “I’ve seen him do things that people just talked about doing for years.”
Spearman described to the crowd how Baldwin served 26 years behind bars and used that time to educate himself. She recounted the work he did with the Modesto Police Department and law enforcement across the country. Baldwin is the executive director and founder of Legacy Alliance Outreach and MBS Consultants.
He told The Bee his work aims to help provide resources to help at-risk youth, formerly incarcerated residents and homeless members of the community get back on their feet. He brought 19 of his staff members to join in the celebration and honored their work in his speech.
Baldwin began and ended his keynote address with spoken word poetry. His approach was met with shouts of agreement from the crowd.
“Trying to say justice is blind. Man, that’s just a fabrication of the mind,” he said.
Modesto City Council members, on behalf of the mayor, responded to Baldwin’s remarks by sharing their enthusiasm at the opportunity to work with him in the future.
Councilman Jeremiah Williams passed out flyers for Monday’s public MLK Unity March and Community Service Event. The march will end with an awards banquet at the King-Kennedy Memorial Center.
The march will assemble at the Helen White Trail, 529 California Ave., at noon and begin at 1 p.m.
This story was originally published January 14, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
