Culver City’s 11th annual birthday tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – on Saturday, Jan. 16, 11 a.m., at the Senior Center – will revolve around the theme of L.O.V.E.
This subject was eloquently expressed by Dr. King in his inspirational messages:
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
“Our Lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
“Returning Violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.
WE must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”
The day-long celebration of Dr. King’s life is free and open to the public.
The event will feature a screening of the film “Dare Not Walk Alone,” directed by Jeremy Dean. It has been hailed as “a triumph of outrage and empathy,” a “powerful slice of roiling American history” by the Los Angeles Times. and The film relates “the greatest civil rights story never told.” Set to a soundtrack that flows from gospel to hip-hop, the film places the heroic struggle for civil rights in the context of current conditions in a place where those struggles were fought.
The place epitomizes what President Obama said in 2008: “The gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.”
King Day activities include an intergenerational panel discussion about the youth view of current and past social and civil rights issues, featuring Robert C. Farrell, former Los Angeles City Councilman, a dramatic rendition of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” by actor Gerald C. Rivers, and a special performance by seventh and eighth graders from Ocean Charter School playing authentic djembe drums from West Africa, as a tribute to Dr. King.
There will be an all-day community service fair with participation from multiple organizations that provide services to our local community.
The Dr. King program will feature a dramatic performance with singer/actress Windy Barnes Farrell and actor Darryl Alan Reed. Ms. Farrell has performed in the company of Julio Iglesias, Michael Bolton and Stevie Wonder. Mr. Reed is a television and film actor. He has performed television shows including NCIS, The New Normal, Desperate Housewives and ER.
For more information, call 310.253.6675 or see www.culvercity.org
Ms. White-Shearin may be contacted at arames.white-shearin@culvercity.org
