Annual MLK parade set for Monday

Celebration will also honor Nelson Mandela

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The Long Beach Martin Luther King Center’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Commemorative March will be held on Monday, Jan. 20, following the traditional route through the center of the city.

But new this year will be a focus on not only King’s legacy, but also on that of the late Nelson Mandela, the South African president and civil rights activist.

“Mandela was such a great leader and he stood for so much and overcame so much adversity,” said MLK Board Chair James Hodge. “We wanted to highlight his life and some of the contributions he made to society. Mandela and King had a lot of similarities when they talked about embracing peace and non-violence and being able to forgive.”

The march will start from Laurelton Boulevard and West Park Avenue at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. The route of the parade will closely follow that which King took when he visited Long Beach in 1968. It will continue along West Park Avenue before banking right on Riverside, winding through the North Park neighborhood and finishing at the MLK Center.

Following the parade, beginning at approximately noon, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration, Luncheon and Fundraiser will be held at the MLK Center, featuring food, performances and various speakers.

The keynote speaker for the event is U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta Lynch. And the grand marshal for the parade will be Chandler McMillan, the Long Beach High School class of 2014 valedictorian.

“We’re very proud of the fact that they can be examples to so many other young African-Americans to know that you can make it and you can rise to the top,” Hodge said. “We’re looking to encourage other young people to know they can achieve. It all coincides together, letting people know that King and Mandela fought to have these opportunities, and we need to take advantage of them. They didn’t do what they did in vain.”

The MLK Center provides youth programs for kids in Long Beach. They offer after-school programs, tutoring programs, cultural dance classes, sports programs, trips and have a youth counselor available for kids to meet with.

Transportation will be available from the MLK Center to the start of the parade. Please arrive at the center between 10:30 and 11:15 a.m.