Sacramento organizations pivot MLK Day plans due to COVID. Here’s how you can celebrate
Usually in mid-January, organizations around Sacramento would be prepping routes for their annual respective marches in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. However, this year, organizations are shifting to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions and safety precautions.
For Sacramento’s MLK 365, instead of marching the streets, they are hosting a live event on their website featuring an education panel, youth leadership panel, and keynote speakers.
The virtual event will take place on Monday, Jan. 18, beginning at 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The five-hour event is open to the public and everyone is welcomed to register for the five-hour event on their website. Those who register will receive t-shirts for the event, which are expected to arrive at a later date.
Typically, organizers and participants meet at Sacramento City College together to prepare for the annual march, but this year don’t expect them there.
“We won’t be there. It’s not safe to gather people together and we don’t want the MLK event to be a superspreader.” said Paul Willis, MLK 365’s Director of Operations. “We just don’t want to take that risk, that’s why we moved our program to a virtual program.”
Sam Starks, executive director of MLK 365 told The Sacramento Bee his intention is to continue to spread the word that Dr. Martin Luther King preached of love for our brothers and sisters.
MLK 365 was founded in 1981 and has become the region’s largest, most diverse annual MLK event by gathering an approximate 10,000 people per year.
“The purpose is to provide tools for people to engage the community and change the way they do things year long,” said Starks. “We’re asking for people to recommit themselves to the values, look back to understand, impact the present, and transform the future,” said Starks.
MLK 365 is not the only organization that will be honoring Dr. King.
North Sacramento community hosts virtual event
Roberts Family Development Center has held a march in North Sacramento for the last 12 years. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they too, will also host a virtual event this year, as opposed to a march.
Derrell Roberts, founder of the nonprofit group, partnered with Grant High School and North Sacramento Community members to host a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration virtual program from 3 to 4:15 p.m. Jan. 18. Registration for the event is free. The event will be hosted on Earth Mama Network through Facebook and YouTube.
The hour long event will feature various forms of celebrations, including music from the Grant High School drum line and a selection from the Daughters of Christ out of Macedonia Baptist Church.
“It’s messages of inspiration, messages of hope, messages around the work of Dr. King and how it impacts us in North Sacramento,” said Roberts said on the importance of the hour-long online event.
South Sacramento MLK Caravan Parade
The Greater Sacramento branch of the NAACP has partnered with Black Lives Matter to host its first car caravan and Parade this year, as opposed to participating in a physical march.
Registration for the NAACP Sacramento MLK Car Caravan and Parade is available now on Eventbrite. The procession from Grant High School to Sacramento State begins at 9 a.m. Jan. 18. From Grant High, the caravan will then head toward their Sacramento State destination. They plan to make pick-up stops at Sacramento City College and the Oak Park Community Center.
Like others, the NAACP will accommodate the precautions of COVID-19. Betty Williams, Sacramento’s NAACP president, has stressed the importance of remaining inside the car throughout the caravan to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“As the cars are going through the route, we’re going to be asking everyone to tune in to 97.5 FM. All of our music, chanting and speeches will be piped in through their radio,” said Williams on the role of the Black-owned radio station, KDEE. “Folks don’t have to get out of the car, just listen on the radio to what we’re saying.”
Bless Child Community Association, Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center, and I Am S.A.C. Foundation will also host a small caravan through south Sacramento which will be led by Sacramento Police Department and Captain Adam Green.
They plan to meet at 8 a.m. at 7000 Franklin Blvd. Organizers expect participants to arrive in their cars and remain in their cars throughout the caravan parade. The parade is set to begin at 10 a.m.
“Everyone has to be in their vehicles. We’re not having anyone out on the streets walking or any of that, it’s coronavirus and we’re elders,” said Sequita Thompson.
Thompson is the President of Bless Child Community Association, who organized the caravan in south Sacramento.
The route will take riders down Florin Road past Luther Burbank High School. They will continue to Freeport Boulevard, where they will then head towards Meadowview Road and end around 1 p.m. at the caravan on 29th Street.
This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.