The City of Davis 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute

The City of Davis and the Human Relations Commission are honored to recognize Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Mayor Partida states “It is unfortunate that as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this year, we are still in the middle of dealing with the COVID crisis. This crisis once again exposes the fact that access to health services and health outcomes is still unequal for communities of color. However, the mission of Dr. King’s work was born in times of adversity and meant to spur our Nation to address the oppression of institutional racism suffered by the black community. Regardless of whether we are able to gather, the best way to honor Dr. King is always to find ways to do service, educate ourselves on institutional inequity and lend our voice to voting rights efforts. I thank our Human Relations Commission for continuing to find ways to celebrate and make visible all our diverse communities, even in this challenging time, and to City staff for rising to assist in that challenge.”

Through poetry, dance and reflections, community members shared tributes to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Videos were posted throughout the day on January 17.

If you are interested in viewing the videos (on YouTube), please click on the links below:

• Welcoming Comments – NJ Mvondo, Human Relations Commissioner
   
• Poetry Reading – City of Davis Poet Laureate Julia Levine presents "When a White Person Writes a Poem for Martin Luther King's Day" and Poet Traci Gourdine presents "Under the Influence of Love"
   
• Reflections – "Around the Kitchen Table" by Dr. Debra Taylor
   
• Poetry Reading – "The Hill We Climb" Written by Amanda Gorman, Performed by children of the Parents of African American Children Group - Davis
   
• Dance Performance – Zeta Nu Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority “The Finest Sorority Honors MLK”
   
• Reflections – Dzokerayi Minya Mukome “For There is Always Light, if You Can See It”
   
• Historical Interview – A five minute excerpt from “To March With Martin” produced and written by DH Martin and Ben Bruening
  (To view the interview in its entirety, go to https://youtu.be/LM9CBsBbrEg)

A YouTube playlist with all the videos may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqAK3GwrxaV8hulHUmfSsbRieT9B7a2Dl