On the eve of the revolutionary Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day, the Fresno community showed up in full commemoration.
Those in attendance gathered at two different events on Sunday, Jan. 19, one at Fresno City College and the other at Free Church to worship, rally and march throughout Fresno.
The Free Church rally and march began at 12:30 p.m. following a church service. Similarly, the event at Fresno City College commenced at 2 p.m. as attendees prepared to walk the campus, singing and embracing one another.
Rafael Avitia, a member of the Fresno Brown Berets and an organizer of the event at Free Church, gave his insight into what he believes makes King Jr. so revolutionary.
“To attack the war machine, to question the funding of the United States government and [for not] funding poverty programs to get people out of this poverty– that made him a dangerous man. That’s why we call him a revolutionary,” Avitia said.
In addition to commemorating the significance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as it is, the community is also honoring the 60th anniversary of when King Jr. came to Fresno largely in protest of a housing law, that would have made it legal for landlords to discriminate against an individual because of their race.
Avitia believes that King Jr. was in Fresno acting against the Vietnam War and poverty within the Fresno area.
“They leave out who he truly was,” Avitia said. “Back when Martin Luther King Jr. was protesting, people knew him for ending discrimination and for equal rights and civil rights, which is awesome, was incredible, but he actually was [here] protesting the war and poverty. Some people do not give him credit for that.”
Avitia was one of the main spokespeople at Free Church, introducing the many guest speakers and helping lead the march. Alongside him was Floyd D. Harris Jr., a civil rights leader and pastor at the church.
Behind the scenes was Robert Wilson, who was in charge of cooking the food for the event. He shared his love for the community before him.
“It means a lot to me because it’s the community,” Wilson said. “We’re doing this for the community. It [isn’t] just one person, so all walks of color like MLK said, are marching together for a good cause.”
The march went throughout West Fresno, and the gatherers were walking intending to unite as a people.
“It is so wonderful to see people of all skin colors and backgrounds walking together, and I love the theme of caring for each other,” said Ken Hudson, an attendee of the event.
Just three miles from the event at Free Church was the gathering at Fresno City College, which consisted of a march and a program presented afterward at the Old Administration building.
Impact Church’s Pastor, Edward Thomas, and Interim Fresno City College President Kim Armstrong facilitated the event, which generated a crowd of approximately 100 people.
“This is the first time Dr. King’s visit to our city has been recognized and celebrated, so it’s a huge moment– it’s history,” said Pastor Thomas. “It means a lot to see the youth, the college students, have this knowledge that Dr. King was here.”
Community members were singing throughout the march as they slowly walked through campus with their family and friends, holding up various signs and banners in remembrance of King.
For those in Fresno, today was not just a celebration of the impact that Martin Luther King Jr. had on the world, but it was also honoring and encouraging the youth’s education on the pieces of history scarcely spoken about.
Paize Jackson attended the event alongside her basketball team and expressed her views concerning the education, or lack thereof, instilled in the youth today.
“Nowadays a lot of kids don’t understand what MLK did for us and some teachers don’t teach about him, so it’s good that we see all these kids out here to learn about him and to march for him,” Jackson said.
The group at Fresno City College consisted of people young and old, all of whom were there for the exact same reasons. Fourth-grade student Jai’shaun reflected on the gathering and discussed what it meant for him to be there.
“It proves that he was a really good person and we wouldn’t be where we are without him,” Jai’shaun said.
He also encourages his young peers to learn about King and everything he did for America.
“There’s lots of lessons online about him and it’s a really fun topic to learn about,” he said.
Individuals of all races, cultures, and ages across Fresno attended these events for the purpose of honoring the revolutionary civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., his appearance in Fresno, and to march into the future as a unified people.
