Celebrating Dreams: Martin Luther King Jr, Yvon Chouinard, YOURS
Dr King’s Dream
Today is Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday: he was born Jan. 15, 1929, and in 1963 he proclaimed “I Have a Dream” in a speech known now around the world. Here in the US, we celebrate MLK and his dream of equality annually, on the third Monday each year with a holiday that includes special events and a national day of service.
One of the special events is “The Beloved Community Awards” which recognizes “national and international individuals and organizations that exemplify excellence in leadership, pursuit of social justice, and commitment to creating the Beloved Community in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.”
Beloved-Community-Awards-2023
In 2023, winners include Ventura local Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard who dreams of sustainability and more, and country singer Dolly Parton who dreams of literacy and more:
- Christine King Farris Legacy of Service in Education Award – Dolly Parton; Entertainer, Business Woman, and Philanthropist, ( honored in absentia)
- Coretta Scott King Soul of the Nation Award – Aminata Toure; Minister for Social Affairs, Youth, Family, Senior
- Citizens, Integration, and Equality Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
- Yolanda D. King Higher Ground Award- HollyRod Foundation- Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete
- Salute to Greatness Humanitarian Award – Yvon Chouinard– Founder of Patagonia
- Salute to Greatness Corporate Social Impact Award – Ariel Investments, Accepted By: John W. Rogers Chairman & Co- CEO
- Beloved Community Civic Leadership Award – Melanie Campbell; President & CEO, National Coalition on Black Civil Participation
- Beloved CommunityTechnological Innovation Award – Reshma Saujani; Founder and CEO of Marshall Plan for Moms & Founder, Girls Who Code
- Beloved Community Social Justice Award – Shane Claiborne; Author, Activist, and Co-Founder of Red Letter Christians
- Beloved Community Youth Influencer Award – Panther Anti Racist Student Union
Jan Dietrick’s silkscreened banner
Wherever you live in the US, you should be able to get to an event. And if not, you can honor his legacy by doing an action of service.
Local Ventura County events include MLK Freedom and Unity Weekend, today and tomorrow, January 15-16, 2023.
MLK
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2023 (MLK’s birthday)
- Gathering of the Youth Summit (10AM – 5PM)
- panels | kingian nonviolence training | listening sessions | networking
- Funders Social (for Funders and Sponsors only) (6:30 – 8:30PM)
MLK DAY | MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023 (MLK Day holiday)
- Youth Networking Brunch (10AM – 12PM)
- The Pat Bell CommUNITY Basketball Game (12:30 – 3:30PM)
- Including halftime show by local artists
MLK Day begins with a march on Monday Jan. 16, at 8 am in Plaza Park, Oxnard, located at 5th Street & C. (Want to help make more of the banners pictured above? LMK! Jan Dietrick has this stencil in plastic film, plus plenty of cloth, paint, and brushes, and she’s offered to help do a banner making party to make a dozen more of these cross-bar banner flags for future marches.)
- 8:00 AM “Freedom March”
From Plaza Park, 5th Street and C Street, Oxnard, CA to Oxnard Performing Arts Center (OPAC). Transportation provided from the Oxnard Performing Arts Center to Plaza Park beginning at 7:30 am. Free. - 9:00 AM Observance Program “In Darkness Be the Light Striving for Freedom”
with Keynote Speaker Lorrie Brown, City of Ventura Council member, Oxnard Performing Arts Center (OPAC), 800 Hobson Way, Oxnard, CA 93030. $10 admission includes refreshments and vendor exhibits. Tickets may be purchased from MLK Committee members, at the door, or online.
Lorrie Brown
Key note speaker Lorrie Brown was elected to the Ventura City Council in 2018 and won by a landslide. She represented unprecedented leadership with a new and diverse voice as the first black person to ever be elected to council (male or female) since the city’s inception 150 years ago. The winner of the 2022 recipient of California Lutheran’s Outstanding Alumni award, Ms Brown served under John R Hatcher III for two years with the Ventura County NAACP as Community Coordinator, and she led the African American Leadership Commission of Ventura County as Chair.
Most years on MLK Day, I publish a post honoring and commemorating Dr King’s life, with a focus on a different aspect or quote, and often connected to the relationship between dreams and education. Come back tomorrow for more with links and discussion of Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” and Mike Rose’s “Just Wanna Be Average.”
If you can’t wait, check out the text here of MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech (or listen to it here).
Please check out Seth Godin’s Stop Stealing Dreams here.
What are your dreams??
Check this out:
“Good trouble is when you are out there with people that you love making sure that justice prevails,” she said in a press release. “I find myself getting into good trouble often.”
Her mom was horrified by her arrests but “At some point, my mother understood,” she said.
At the Martin Luther King event, Perez-Jordan and others will teach people about King’s conviction that taking action without violence creates positive force against injustice and brings change.
“Nonviolence is not just the absence of violence, it’s the presence of love and justice,” she said. “nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.”
Speakers, participants and entertainers include nationally known activist and former Women’s March co-chair Tamika Mallory, former NFL player Ronney Jenkins, actor Miles Brown and hip-hop artist Chino XL. Local educators and community leaders will also participate.
art predator 