Holiday Is A Celebration For People Of All Colors

Sat., Jan. 17, 1998

Kim D. Parker Special To Opinion

I grew up in a military family and we lived all over the world so I was never in one place where they really celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I moved to Spokane in 1990 and went to my first celebration held at Spokane Community College. It was great to finally be able to mark the day in a special way.

Now I am executive director at the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center and have spent the past few months planning some of the celebrations for the King holiday. Each year more and more businesses give this day off and this is a good trend. But I’d like to encourage people to see it not as a day off, but as a day to renew your commitment to civil rights and community involvement.

You will have several opportunities to do that this long holiday weekend. On Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at SCC’s Lair Center, the Public Unity Multi-Cultural event will take place. There will be speakers and music and businesses represented there who have services for people of color.

On Monday, the annual march will begin at 10 in the morning in front of the Spokane Convention Center and marchers will end up at the Masonic Temple at 1108 W. Riverside. Please bring your children. It’s a good way to get young people involved in causes bigger than themselves.

After the march, you are invited inside the Masonic Temple for a rally and to learn about our programs at the outreach center.

If you’ve never participated in the march, please make the time. There is a lot of spirit there. The march itself is symbolic of the 1960s marches for civil rights and you will see all ages and races gathered together for one purpose.

People have told me that they think Dr. King’s holiday is an African-American celebration, but remember, Dr. King was not just for blacks. He wanted equality for everyone and so everyone should be involved in this day.

I would urge you to participate in the community celebrations and then take it a step further. Don’t just leave those events and say, “Well, I did my piece for this year.” When issues arrive concerning civil rights, get involved. There are many community groups working toward equality and rights for all.

Let your involvement begin this weekend. I hope to see you there!

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.

Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.