Young people honor King's legacy through day of service
| Monday, Jan 18 2010 06:17 PM
Last Updated Monday, Jan 18 2010 06:48 PM
Images:
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Six-year-old Riordan Bank waves the American flag as people attending the annual community breakfast celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. listen to the program.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian "It's a fact that we have come a long way," said Pastor Marvin E. Cockrell as he started his speech at the annual community breakfast celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Over a hundred people attended the celebration Monday morning.
On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, many of those observing or in some cases leading holiday presentations at a local community center were born long after the slain civil rights leader's death.
The audience at a breakfast meeting and a later youth luncheon dedicated to honoring King's legacy was heavily populated with members of Generation X or younger, and so were the volunteers engaged in holiday-related community service projects.
Rebecca Ellis, 38, brought four children ranging in age from 5 to 10 to sign up for social action organization Faith in Action's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
The group sent them to the Bakersfield Homeless Center for a purpose to be determined.
"We'll do whatever needs doing," Ellis said. "Doesn't matter. However they can use us."
The morning began overcast, and later there was heavy rain, but Faith in Action administrative assistant Oliver Tan stood fast at an outdoor table outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, handing out assignments.
"So far we've had maybe 39 people show up despite the weather," he said at about 11:30 a.m. Monday. "I'm sure it would be a little more if it were sunnier, but that's still pretty good. People in the community care and are willing to help out."
Indoors where it was warm and dry, a pair of high school sophomores showed the audience at a youth luncheon their award-winning documentary on voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. They made the film as seventh-graders as part of a history contest.
Ali Smith Castellanos and Allie Molen urged people to donate to the cause of building a memorial statue of Hamer in her hometown of Ruleville, Miss.
"We have business cards with all the information about the fund," Molen said, waving a card in the air with a Web site address: www.fannielouhamer.info/hamer_statue.html
Many of the young people scarfing down pizza, juice and cake at the luncheon wore clothes splattered with paint from covering over graffiti.
Shantaye Coleman, 17, was one of them.
Coleman said King was inspirational and the best way to honor him was to carry on his work.
"It feels nice to do something good, to be helpful," she said.
Alex De La Cruz, 17, helped clean up trash in alleys.
"It's a good way to spend the holiday," he said. "It's better than sitting around doing nothing at home, and you get to spend time with all kinds of people, different people."
Anthony Salisbury, 14, said he went to the luncheon to learn more about King.
"In the past you learned more about him at school, but they don't cover him as much anymore," he said.
At a Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast earlier, dignitaries and community leaders from throughout the region paid tribute to King and honored local activists involved in the fight against gang violence and drug addiction, as well as the leader of a program that teaches computer skills to disadvantaged youth.
The keynote speaker was the Rev. Marvin Cockrell of True Light Baptist Church in Wasco, who told listeners that the black man must take responsibility for his own advancement.
"Stop expecting God and other people to do for him what he ought to be doing for himself," he said.
The black community cannot improve itself unless members get a good education, dress appropriately, establish a strong work ethic and parent better, Cockrell said, earning a standing ovation.
Other speakers included Faith in Action volunteer Felicia Harris, 31, who recounted surviving being shot in the head in 2001 only to lose her brother to violence seven years later.
"He wasn't in a gang. He wasn't a trouble maker. He was in college when someone decided his life needed to end," Harris said.
After sinking into a deep depression, Harris said, she made the conscious decision to dedicate the rest of her life to making the world a better place for the poor, ignorant and oppressed.
"I must lead a life of purpose," she said. "Giving up is not an option for my children, so it can't be an option for me."
For some, that message will continue to resonate long after the day's speeches have faded from memory.
Ellis and her children returned from their stint at Bakersfield Homeless Center beaming.
"We're going to make it a regular thing every week," she said. "This was a really good day."
