Cal State Long Beach’s 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, highlighted by slam poetry and gospel music, will take place in front of the University Bookstore at the Speaker’s Podium Thursday.
From noon to 1 p.m., the MLK commemoration will feature speeches from associate professor Brandon Gamble and CSULB student Taharka Anderson. In addition, there will be performances by the university’s gospel choir and a community drum, led by American Indian studies professor Craig Stone.
The event will also reach out to other members of the Long Beach community, like students from Male Academy and Hill Middle School, who will attend the event as part of a campus tour.
“We hope that our students and those visiting from neighboring schools will be inspired to embrace Dr. King’s vision and his advocacy for justice, peace, freedom and opportunity for all,” said Valerie Bordeaux, director of University Outreach and School Relations at CSULB.
According to the director of the Multicultural Center James Sauceda, each year’s celebration is a chance to remember and spread the message of civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr.
“Dr. King represents a universal value of courage,” Sauceda said. “I think [the celebration is] a wonderful way for the campus to come together — enlarging the circles of compassion.”
Biology major Amy Armstrong said remembering and honoring Martin Luther King’s achievements and vision for peace every year is just as important as any other holiday.
“I think celebrating [the MLK event] represents celebrating all walks of life,” Armstrong said.
Numerous groups around campus are organizing the MLK event.
“[They] volunteer their time and talent … so that our campus family in some small way can be counted among the various activities and events nationwide that commemorate Dr. King’s legacy,” Bordeaux said. “It’s a labor of love.”
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