Vol. 63 No. 2 | Thursday, January 12, 2023

By Yvette Porter Moore

Goodwin

PHOTO: Courtesy of Leah Goodwin

On January 6, 2023, Governor Newsome announced the appointment of local San Diegan, Leah Goodwin, who resides in Imperial Beach, to the California Arts Council.

WHY WE CELEBRATE

The Life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. John E. Warren Publisher

January 16, 2023 marks the 94th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While we celebrate his birthday, we also remember that he was assassinated 55 years ago this April. The further we move from his life, and for those of us who either knew or personally experienced his struggle, the more important it becomes to provide these factual printed excerpts from “trusted messengers” like the Black Press. In reality, we have an entire generation with social media posts of Dr. King, giving abbreviated glimpses of the man and his contributions. We have streets, buildings, and monuments named after him, but little knowledge of the man himself. Because there

was much more to Dr. King than “I Have a Dream”, we are publishing in their entirety some of his messages here in this special “commemorative” issue providing some insight into the life of Dr. King, the man.

Dr. King believed that” the laws of man” never outweighed “the laws of God.” The March on Washington, D.C. on August 28th, 1963 was a march for jobs and freedom. Dr. King and the 250,000 plus who joined him, and I was one of them, intended to redeem what he called a “check” that America had issued to the poor and jobless. That check had been returned, marked “insufficient funds”. The “Dream” was never a substitute for the bounced check. It was to be the

product of the check, had it, in fact, been “redeemed”. This issue, like those appearing in a number of African American publications this week, is intended to provide more information on Dr. King, particularly for those born 54 years after his death. The pictures, stories, articles, and excerpts from some of his speeches are meant to add an understanding of Martin Luther King, Jr. The man, not the myth.

In the midst of the pandemic continuing, it is our hope that this issue will be retained as a point of reference for years to come. To that end, it will also be available for viewing online, but not for download. We deeply thank those who have placed ads in this

issue making it possible for us to reach our children, churches, schools, and the general community as we celebrate and remember the man.

For a compelling view of one of the greatest speeches ever given in receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize, we urge you to go to YouTube and view Dr. Martin Luther King’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 1964.

In conclusion, let us remember that Dr. King is the only private citizen in the history of this country to have both a National Holiday in his honor and a monument on the National Mall. It is still up to us to make the dream and the sacrifice of the man a reality.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Biographical Overview

During the less than 13 years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 until April 4, 1968, African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality than the previous 350 years had produced. Dr. King is widely regarded as America’s preeminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history.

Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to achieve legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. While others were advocating for freedom by “any means necessary,” including violence, Martin Luther King, Jr. used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protests and grassroots organizing, to achieve seemingly-impossible goals. He went on to lead similar campaigns against poverty and international conflict, always maintaining fidelity to his principles that men and women everywhere, regardless of color or creed, are equal members of the human family.

SOME OF DR. KING’S MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE:

In 1955, he was recruited to serve as spokesman for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was a campaign by the African-American population of Montgomery, Alabama to force integration of the city’s bus lines. After 381 days of nearly universal participation by the black community, many of whom had to walk miles to work each day as a result, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in transportation was unconstitutional.

In 1957, Dr. King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization meant to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. He would serve as head of the SCLC until his assassination in 1968, a period during which he would emerge as the most important social leader of the modern American civil rights movement.

In 1963, he led a coalition of numerous civil rights groups in a nonviolent campaign aimed at Birmingham, Alabama, which at the time was described as the “most segregated city in America.”

BIRTH & FAMILY

Born at noon on Tuesday, January 15, 1929 at the family home in Atlanta, Martin Luther King, Jr. was the first son and second child born to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Also born to the Kings were Christine, now Mrs. Isaac Farris, Sr., and the Reverend Alfred Daniel Williams King, now deceased.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s maternal grandparents were the Reverend Adam Daniel Williams, second pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Jenny Parks Williams. His paternal grandparents were James Albert and Delia King, sharecroppers on a farm in Stockbridge, Georgia.

He married Coretta Scott, the younger daughter of Obadiah and Bernice McMurry Scott of Marion, Alabama, on June 18, 1953. The marriage ceremony took place on the lawn of the Scott’s home in Marion, Alabama. The Rev. King, Sr. performed the service.

UPBRINGING & STUDIES

The son, grandson, and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, Martin Luther King Jr., named Michael King at birth, spent his first twelve years in the Auburn Avenue home that his parents, the Reverend Michael King and Alberta Williams King, shared with his maternal grandparents, the Adam Daniel Williams and Jeannie Celeste Williams. After

Rev. Williams’ death in 1931, his son-inlaw became Ebenezer Baptist Church’s new pastor and gradually established himself as a major figure in state and national Baptist groups. The elder King began referring to himself (and later to his son) as Martin Luther King.

During his undergraduate years at Atlanta’s Morehouse College (1944 to 1948), King gradually overcame his initial reluctance to accept his inherited calling. Morehouse President Benjamin E. Mays influenced King’s spiritual development, encouraging him to view Christianity as a potential force for progressive social change. He was ordained during his final semester at Morehouse, and by this time King had also taken his first steps toward political activism. He had responded to the postwar wave of anti-black violence by proclaiming in a letter to the editor of the Atlanta Constitution that African Americans were “entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens”. During his senior year King joined the Intercollegiate Council, an interracial student discussion group that met monthly at Atlanta’s Emory University.

After leaving Morehouse, King increased his understanding of progressive Christian thought while attending Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania from 1948 to 1951. Initially uncritical of liberal theology, he gradually moved toward Reinhold Niebuhr’s neo-orthodoxy, which emphasized the intractability of social evil.

Even as he continued to question and modify his own religious beliefs, he compiled an outstanding academic record and graduated at the top of his class. In 1951 King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University’s School of Theology. By the time he completed his doctoral studies in 1955, King had refined his exceptional ability to draw upon a wide range of theological and philosophical texts to express his views with force and precision. His ability to infuse his oratory with borrowed theological insights became evident in his expanding preaching activities in Boston-area-churches and at Ebenezer, where he assisted his father during school vacations.

THE BUS BOYCOTT SPARKS A MOVEMENT

Although he considered pursuing an academic career, King decided in 1954 to accept an offer to become the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In December 1955, when Montgomery’s black leaders, such as Jo Ann Robinson, E.D. Nixon, and Ralph Abernathy formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to protest the arrest of NAACP official Rosa Park for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, they selected King to head the new group.

In his role as the primary spokesman of the year-long Montgomery bus boycott, King utilized the leadership abilities he had gained from his religious background and academic training to forge a distinctive protest strategy that involved the mobilization of black churches and skillful appeals for white support. With the encouragement of Bayard Rustin, Glenn Smiley, William Stuart Nelson and other veteran pacifists, King also became a firm advocate of Mohandas Gandhi’s precepts of nonviolence, which he combined with Christian social gospel ideas.

In his last book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, King dismissed the claim of Black Power advocates “to be the most revolutionary wing of the social revolution taking place in the United States,” but he acknowledged that they responded to a psychological need among African Americans he had not previously addressed. “Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery,” King wrote. “The Negro will only be free when he reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own emancipation proclamation.”

We believe a brighter tomorrow starts with building an inclusive workforce, expanding contracting opportunities for small businesses, and ensuring a safe and reliable water supply for our communities.

The San Diego County Water Authority

Proudly honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In this 1960 file photo, Martin Luther King Jr. speaks in Atlanta. The civil rights leader had carried the banner for the causes of social justice — organizing protests, leading marches and making powerful speeches exposing the scourges of segregation, poverty and racism. (AP File Photo)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The King Philosophy

The

Martin Luther King Jr. Center www.thekingcenter.org

TRIPLE EVILS

The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and MILITARISM are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils. To work against the Triple Evils, you must develop a nonviolent frame of mind as described in the “Six Principles of Nonviolence” and use the Kingian model for social action outlined in the “Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change.”

Some contemporary examples of the Triple Evils are listed next to each item: POVERTY – unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, infant mortality, slums…

“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty…The well off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the least of these.”

RACISM – prejudice, apartheid, ethnic conflict, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, discrimination against disabled groups, stereotypes…

“Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission. It is the absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the progress of the future. Racism is total estrangement. It separates not only bodies, but minds and spirits. Inevitably it descends to inflicting spiritual and physical homicide upon the out-group.”

MILITARISM – war, imperialism, domestic violence, rape, terrorism, human trafficking, media violence, drugs, child abuse, violent crime…

“A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war‘This way of settling differences is not just.’ This way of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

Source: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1967.

SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE

Fundamental tenets of Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence described in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom. The six principles include:

1. PRINCIPLE ONE: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is active nonviolent resistance to evil. It is aggressive spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

2. PRINCIPLE TWO: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation. The purpose of nonviolence is the creation of the Beloved Community.

3. PRINCIPLE THREE: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people. Nonviolence recognizes that evildoers are also victims and are not evil people. The nonviolent resister seeks to defeat evil not people.

4. PRINCIPLE FOUR: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence accepts suffering without retaliation. Unearned suffering is redemptive and has tremendous educational and transforming possibilities.

5. PRINCIPLE FIVE: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists violence of the spirit as well as the body. Nonviolent love is spontaneous, unmotivated, unselfish and creative.

6. PRINCIPLE SIX: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent resister has deep faith that justice will eventually win. Nonviolence believes that God is a God of justice.

SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE

The Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change are based on Dr. King’s nonviolent campaigns and teachings that emphasize love in action. Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence, as reviewed in the Six Principles of Nonviolence, guide these steps for social and interpersonal change.

1. INFORMATION GATHERING: To understand and articulate an issue, problem or injustice facing a person, community, or institution you must do research. You must investigate and gather all vital information from all sides of the argument or issue so as to increase your understanding of the problem. You must become an expert on your opponent’s position.

2. EDUCATION: It is essential to inform others, including your opposition, about your issue. This minimizes misunderstandings and gains you support and sympathy.

3. PERSONAL COMMITMENT: Daily check and affirm your faith in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence. Eliminate hidden motives and prepare yourself to accept suffering, if necessary, in your work for justice.

4. DISCUSSION/NEGOTIATION: Using grace, humor and intelligence, confront the other party with a list of injustices and a plan for addressing and resolving these injustices. Look for what is positive in every action and statement the opposition makes. Do not seek to humiliate the opponent but to call forth the good in the opponent.

5. DIRECT ACTION: These are actions taken when the opponent is unwilling to enter into, or remain in, discussion/negotiation. These actions impose a “creative tension” into the conflict, supplying moral pressure on your opponent to work with you in resolving the injustice.

6. RECONCILIATION: Nonviolence seeks friendship and understanding with the opponent. Nonviolence does not seek to defeat the opponent. Nonviolence is directed against evil systems, forces, oppressive policies, unjust acts, but not against persons. Through reasoned compromise, both sides resolve the injustice with a plan of action. Each act of reconciliation is one step close to the ‘Beloved Community.’

Based on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in Why We Can’t Wait, Penguin Books, 1963.

We often view the Six Steps as phases or cycles of a campaign rather than steps because each of them embodies a cluster or series of activities related to each of the other five elements.

THE BELOVED COMMUNITY

“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. However, it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who popularized the term and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of goodwill all over the world.

For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence.

Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

While we encourage all to find and read the full transcripts of Dr. King’s speeches, the excerpted passages here can serve as powerful reminders of Dr. King’s eloquence and brilliance, our progress as a nation, and the work still to be done.

Excerpt of “I Have a Dream”

By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/ihaveadream.htm

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this

nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism... Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood…

This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning…

Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual... The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges…

In the process… We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline… Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force…

Many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone…

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no… we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I have a dream today…

rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. And so we must help time and realize that the time is always right to do right.”

America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

D r. King gave over 2000 speeches advocating for civil and human rights for African Americans.

In this Aug. 28, 1963 photo, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, gestures during his “I Have a Dream” speech as he addresses thousands of civil rights supporters gathered in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)

“

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963

“Human progress never

— Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake

Through a Great Revolution,” delivered at PLNU’s campus (then Cal Western), May 29, 1964.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Excerpt of “Give Us the Ballot”

Washington, D.C. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center www.CivilRightsDigitalLibrary.com

May 17, 1957 - Nearly twenty thousand people listened while King and other national civil rights leaders exhorted the president and Congress to fulfill the promise of Brown v. the Board of Education, embodied in the proposed Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished platform associates, fellow Americans: Three years ago the Supreme Court of this nation rendered in simple, eloquent, and unequivocal language a decision which will long be stenciled on the mental sheets of succeeding generations. For all men of goodwill, this May seventeenth decision came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of human captivity. It came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of disinherited people throughout the world who had dared only to dream of freedom. Unfortunately, this noble and sublime decision has not gone without opposition. This opposition has often risen to ominous proportions. Many states have risen up in open defiance. The legislative halls of the South ring loud with such words as “interposition” and “nullification.”

But even more, all types of conniving methods are still being used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters. The denial of this sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition. And so our most urgent request to the president of the United States and every member of Congress is to give us the right to vote.

Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights. Give us the ballot, and we will no longer plead to the federal government for passage of an anti-lynching law; we will by the power of our vote write the law on the statute books of the South and bring an end to the dastardly acts of the hooded perpetrators of violence. Give us the ballot, and we will transform the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens. Give us the ballot, and we will fill our legislative halls with men of goodwill and send to the sacred halls of Congress men who will not sign a “Southern Manifesto” because of their devotion to the manifesto of justice. Give us the ballot, and we will place judges on the benches of the south who will do justly and love mercy, and we will place at the head of the southern states governors who have felt not only the tang of the human, but the glow of the Divine. Give us the ballot, and we will quietly and nonviolently, without rancor or bitterness, implement the Supreme Court’s decision of May seventeenth, 1954.

In this juncture of our nation’s history, there is an urgent need for dedicated and courageous leadership. If we are to solve the problems ahead and make racial justice a reality, this leadership must be fourfold. First, there is need for strong, aggressive leadership from the federal government.

A second area in which there is need for strong leadership is from the white northern liberals. There is a dire need today for a liberalism which is truly liberal. What we are witnessing today in so many northern communities is a sort of quasi-liberalism which is based on the principle of looking sympathetically at all sides. It is a liberalism so bent on seeing all sides, that it fails to become committed to either side. It is a liberalism that is so objectively analytical that it is not subjectively committed. It is a liberalism which is neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm.

A third source that we must look to for strong leadership is from the moderates of the white South. It is unfortunate that at this time the leadership of the white South stems from the close-minded reactionaries. These persons gain prominence and power by the dissemination of false ideas and by deliberately appealing to the deepest hate responses within the human mind. It is my firm belief that this close-minded, reactionary, recalcitrant group constitutes a numerical minority.

We must work passionately and unrelentingly for the goal of freedom, but we must be sure that our hands are clean in the struggle. We must never struggle with falsehood, hate, or malice. We must never become bitter.

There is another warning signal. We talk a great deal about our rights, and rightly so. We proudly proclaim that three-fourths of the peoples of the world are colored. We have the privilege of noticing in our generation the great drama of freedom and independence as it unfolds in Asia and Africa. All of these things are in line with the unfolding work of Providence.

We must also avoid the temptation of being victimized with a psychology of victors. We have won marvelous victories. We have been able to do some of the most amazing things of this generation. But we must not, however, remain satisfied with a court victory over our white brothers. We must respond to every decision with an understanding of those who have opposed us and with an appreciation of the difficult adjustments that the court orders pose for them. I conclude by saying that each of us must keep faith in the future. Let us not despair. Let us realize that as we struggle for justice and freedom, we have cosmic companionship. There is something in our faith that says to us, “Never despair; never give up; never feel that the cause of righteousness and justice is doomed.” There is something in our Christian faith, at the center of it, which says to us that Good Friday may occupy the throne for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumphant beat of the drums of Easter.

Give us the ballot, and we will transform the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens.

– MLK ”

When the history books are written in the future, the historians will have to look back and say, “There lived a great people. A people with ‘fleecy locks and black complexion,’ but a people who injected new meaning into the veins of civilization; a people which stood up with dignity and honor and saved Western civilization in her darkest hour; a people that gave new integrity and a new dimension of love to our civilization.” When that happens, “the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy.”

The well-off and the secure have too often become indifferent to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. ~ MLK

King’s Historic San Diego Speech

Delivered on May 29, 1964 in San Diego, CA at Point Loma Nazarene University to a crowd of nearly 3,500. At the time, San Diego was known as the “Mississippi of the West.” The phrase was coined by the Reverend Dr. George Stevens, former CORE chair and NAACP president, and Dr. Carrol W. Waymon, founder of the San Diego State College Black History Department:

The great challenge facing every man and every woman today is to remain awake through this great social revolution... Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God...

It may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law can’t make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me.

THE WORDS OF MLK

“

Delivered at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom gathering at the Lincoln Memorial in

“ And so, while the law may not change the hearts of men, it does change the habits of men.

BIRMINGHAM

REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

O

n April 12, 1963, Dr. King was arrested for campaigning against entrenched Alabama segregationist policies. While in solitary confinement, he wrote a 7,000word open letter to a group of white clergy who were critical of his campaign. It serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made as a nation, yet the work still to be done.

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Source: University of Pennsylvania

M y D ear F ellow C lergy M en :

While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against “outsiders coming in.” I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one

directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds……

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation.

Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham’s economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants-for example, to remove the stores’ humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. A few signs, briefly removed, returned; the others remained.

See page 9

“

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed...

– MLK

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

C ontinued from page 8

As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. ...

Mindful of the difficulties in-volved, we decided to undertake a process of self purification. We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?” “Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?” …..

You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.

My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.

Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.

I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue.

One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. Some have asked: “Why didn’t you give the new city administration time to act?” …... My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.

Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, “Wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate

filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. …., at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an “I it” relationship for an “I thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man’s tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

…...Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake.

BIRMINGHAM

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself. ~ MLK

OF

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

C ontinued from page 9

It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s antireligious laws.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of jus-tice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalis-tically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow under-standing from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

BIRMINGHAM Letter From a Birmingham Jail

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the

white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.

In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? …. We must come to see that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.

……...We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

…….Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: “Get rid of your discontent.” Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action.

And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love...Was not Amos an extremist for justice...Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel...Was not Martin Luther an extremist….And John Bunyan... And Abraham Lincoln…... And Thomas Jefferson...

So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?

...Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

C ontinued from page 10 of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in the South have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it…... But despite these notable exceptions, I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.

When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, a few years ago, I felt we would be supported by the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.

In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral concern, would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed.

I have heard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their worshipers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers declare: “Follow this decree because integration is morally right and because the Negro is your brother.” In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: “Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.” And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.

I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states.

On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South’s beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: “What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?”

Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise?

I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

...Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us.

...They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.

Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America’s destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation -and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.

Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping “order” and “preventing violence.” I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.

It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather “nonviolently” in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett in Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice. As T. S. Eliot has said: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: “My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest.” They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience’ sake.

One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those

great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.

I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood, Martin Luther King, Jr

BIRMINGHAM

1929

MAJOR EVENTS

JANUARY 10-11

1946

1951 1954 1953

King

Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to vacate her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus to make way for a white passenger. Women’s Political Council members distribute thousands of leaflets calling for a one-day boycott of the city’s buses on Monday, 5 December. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) is formed. King becomes its president.

1955

1956 1958

Martin Luther King Jr. is born at 501 Auburn Ave. in Atlanta, Georgia. His mother, Alberta King was a school teacher and his father, Michael Luther King was a Baptist minister.

The Atlanta Constitution publishes King’s letter to the editor stating that black people “are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens.”

King graduates from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pa. with a bachelor of divinity degree, delivering the commencement valedictory address.

JUNE 8 1948

King is ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

King graduates from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA with a B.A. in Sociology.

King marries Coretta Scott on the front lawn of the Scott home near Marion, Alabama. They eventually have four children.

King begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

The U.S. Supreme Court affirms Browder v. Gayle and declares Montgomery and Alabama bus segregation laws unconstitutional. King is among the first passengers to ride the city’s newly integrated buses.

During a book signing in Harlem, King is stabbed with a seven-inch letter opener by Izola Ware Curry. He recovers.

DECEMBER 1-5

is awarded his doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is formed by Southern black ministers in Atlanta to discuss strategies to fight segregation. King is named SCLC’s first president.

While speaking at a mass civil rights meeting, King’s home is bombed. Later King addresses an angry crowd outside the house, pleading for nonviolence.

King and other civil rights leaders meet with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington.

MARCH 6

King attends Ghana’s independence celebrations in West Africa and meets with Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah.

MAY 17

King delivers his first national address, “Give Us The Ballot,” at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

JUNE 13

King and Ralph D. Abernathy meet with Vice President Richard M. Nixon, the first of several meetings.

SEPTEMBER 7

King’s first book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, is published.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is seen with the Washington Monument, in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, lead off the final lap to the state capitol at Montgomery, Ala., on March 25, 1965.

Thousands of civil rights marchers joined in the walk, which began in Selma, Ala., on March 21, demanding voter registration rights for blacks. Rev.

Photo)

Dr. Martin Luther King civil rights leader testifying before the Senate Government Operations subcommittee, December 15, 1966. (AP Photo)

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is welcomed with a kiss by his wife Coretta after leaving court in Montgomery, Ala., March 22, 1956. King was found guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses in a campaign to desegregate the bus system, but a judge suspended his $500 fine pending appeal. (AP Photo/Gene Herrick)

There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we have the resources to get rid of it. ~ MLK

IN DR. KING’S LIFE

JUNE 11

JANUARY 18

MARCH 6

NOVEMBER 18

After King criticizes the FBI’s failure to protect civil rights workers, the agency’s director J. Edgar Hoover denounces King as “the most notorious liar in the country.” A week later he states that SCLC is “spearheaded by Communists and moral degenerates.”

JANUARY 26

APRIL 3

King visits India, the home of his hero, Mohandas Gandhi. King credits his success in civil rights to Gandhi’s passive resistance techniques.

1959

1960

King leaves Montgomery and moves to Atlanta to devote more time to SCLC. He becomes assistant pastor at his father’s church, Ebenezer Baptist Church.

King meets Malcolm X in Washington, D.C. for the first and only time.

King’s book, Why We Can’t Wait, is published

1964 1966 1968 1963 1965 1967

In

Responding to eight Jewish and Christian clergymen’s advice that African Americans wait patiently for justice, King pens his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

King delivers the eulogy at the funerals of Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Dianne Wesley, three of the four children that were

OCTOBER 10

King meets privately in New York with Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. King later meets with President Kennedy in 1963, urging him to issue a second Emancipation Proclamation to eliminate racial segregation.

JUNE 23

King

King meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson and other leaders about voting rights for blacks.

MARCH 17-25

King’s book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? , is published.

King

King receives the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway.

In Chicago, King meets Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.

King is buried in Atlanta.

FEBRUARY 1

APRIL 6

JUNE

President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with King, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and James Farmer to seek support for his War on Poverty initiative.

JANUARY 3

King is named Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year.”

delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. After the march, King and other civil rights leaders have a White House meeting with President John F. Kennedy and VicePresident Lyndon B. Johnson.

killed during the September 15th bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.

an event known as “Bloody Sunday,” voting rights marchers are beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as they attempt to march to Montgomery.

At a New York City gathering of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam, King delivers his speech, “Beyond Vietnam,” demanding the U.S. end the war.

U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy authorizes the FBI to wiretap King’s home phone.

King, John Lewis and 3200 people march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama after a U.S. District judge upholds their right to conduct an orderly demonstration.

King publicly opposes the Vietnam War at a mass rally at the Ninth Annual Convention of SCLC in Birmingham.

announces plans for his Poor People’s Campaign, a mass civil disobedience campaign set for Washington, D.C., to force the government to end poverty.

King and his wife Coretta bring attention to urban poverty and poor housing conditions when they move into an apartment on the Southside of Chicago.

King is shot and killed in Memphis while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Nearly 100,000 people attend his funeral.

King is arrested and jailed for demanding service at a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Aug. 28, 1963. (AP Photo)

King delivers his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”

MLK NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

MARTIN LUTHER KING’S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, OSLO, DECEMBER 10, 1964

U.S. Department of the Interior

This prestigious award propelled the modern American Civil Rights Movement into global and renowned recognition. Dr. King stated:

“

that this Nobel Prize was won by a movement of great people, whose discipline, wise restraint, and majestic courage has led them down a nonviolent course in seeking to establish a reign of justice and a rule of love across this nation of ours: Herbert Lee, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, and the thousands of children in Birmingham, Albany, St. Augustine, and Savannah who had accepted physical blows and jail and had discovered that the power of the soul is greater than the might of violence. These unknown thousands had given this movement the international acclaim, which we received from the Norwegian Parliament. ”

– MLK

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation.

Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.

After contemplation, I conclude that this award is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Negroes of the United States have demonstrated that nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness”

of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice can be lifted from this dust of shame. I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that We Shall overcome!

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.

Source: Les Prix Nobel en 1964, Editor Göran Liljestrand, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1965

Paid for by Scott Peters for Congress

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shakes the hand of King Olav of Norway at a ceremony in Oslo.

Photo: National Park Service

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.

8 Intriguing Facts about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born with a different name: Dr. King was born Michael King on January 15, 1929. A few years later, his father, also named Michael King, changed his name to Martin Luther King, Sr., in honor of the German Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, and subsequently changed his son’s name to Martin Luther King, Jr.

2. He was arrested 30 times.

3. He graduated from Morehouse

College in 1948 at the age of 19.

4. Dr. Mordecai Johnson, President of Howard University, inspired Dr. King to study nonviolence: King wrote in his first book, ‘Stride Toward Freedom,’ that, “one Sunday afternoon” he heard Johnson, who had just returned from India, speak about Gandhi’s campaigns of nonviolent resistance to British colonialism. King said, “His message was so profound and electrifying that I left the meeting

and bought a half-dozen books on Gandhi’s life and works.” From that point on King integrated Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance into his Christian beliefs.

5. He didn’t plan to become a Civil Rights leader, he wanted to pastor a church, teach, write and raise a family: In 1955, his destiny was sealed by the social and political events of history, when local Southern African American leaders chose him to serve as their

spokesman for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

6. He gave over 2,500 speeches over his lifetime.

7. The “I Have a Dream” Speech was only 17 minutes long: In 1999 a panel of over 130 scholars rated it as the best political speech of the 20th century, ranking No. 1 and beating out John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address.

8. Dr. King’s parents were the most

Source: The King Center, www.thekingcenter.org

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

influential people in his life: King credited his mother, Alberta Williams King; his father, Martin Luther King, Sr.; and Jesus Christ as the central influences on the development of his faith, character and moral principles. Mahatma Gandhi; his mentor, Dr. Benjamin Mays; and theologians Walter Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr and Howard Thurman were also major influences.

“

There is a Mrs. King. There is also Coretta. How one became detached from the other remains a mystery to me. Most people … know me as Mrs. King: the wife of, the widow of, the mother of, the leader of. Makes me sound like the attachments that come with my vacuum cleaner. … But I am more than a label, I am also Coretta – C

By D. Kevin McNeir

The words above begin an intimate conversation between Coretta Scott King, which occurred several years before her death in 2006, and the Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds, local minister, journalist and author, shared in her book about Mrs. King.

Her published memoir, “My Life, My Love, My Legacy,” chronicles King from her early commitment to the Civil Rights Movement to her eventual marriage to Martin Luther King Jr. — a decision that almost immediately catapulted her into the maelstrom of history.

“It took me almost 10 years to complete the project because I had to struggle and negotiate with the three living siblings [Martin III, Bernice and Dexter King] who each had their own thoughts about what should be included in the book,” she said. “They each wanted to feel that the woman I presented was their mother and that it was really her story.”

Reynolds shared several anecdotes that facilitated greater understanding about the complexities, choices and ultimate concerns that marked the life of Coretta Scott King after the murder of her husband.

CORRETA SCOTT KING Coretta Scott King: More Than the

“As we spent more time together, I became amazed by her courage,” Reynolds said. “After their home in Montgomery was bombed, Dr. King’s father told her that she and their infant child Yolanda needed to come with him to Atlanta

Widow of an Icon

for their own safety. She refused saying she had to stand with and support Martin. Despite receiving daily death threats, she maintained ‘I am stronger than a crisis.’ She realized that she was ‘married to the movement.’”

When asked to assess Mrs. King’s most lasting contributions to the movement and to securing her husband’s legacy, Reynolds cited two examples: the creation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta and the establishment of a national holiday honoring the Jan. 15 birthday of Dr. King.

“She discovered that many of the men who supported Dr. King were unwilling to support her,” Reynolds said. “But she didn’t let that deter her. After the March on Washington, the men told her she needed to go back to the hotel so they could continue their work. She disliked feeling like ‘a caged bird’ that sang as Maya Angelou once described. She found ways to negotiate through the sexism that was typical within the Baptist leadership.

“I would describe her as more than just a civil rights leader. She was a human rights leader because she wanted to go beyond the ‘isms’ of the world,” Reynolds said. “Still I wonder, after so many years of nurturing Dr. King’s legacy, who will nurture the legacy of Coretta Scott King?”

This article appeared originally in The Washington Informer.

THE DREAM FURTHERED: 6 Coretta Scott King Award Winning Books to Love

By Voice & Viewpoint Newswire

The Coretta Scott King Award, founded in 1969 to honor both the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, has been awarded to exceptional African American authors and illustrators of children’s and young adult books who have, through their works, exemplified the philosophies of Dr. King and African American culture overall. Here are some of the many books that have received the honor since its founding.

Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty

A boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone. At first, he feels lost. But his father has left him a letter filled with advice to guide him through the times he cannot be there.

Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita WilliamsGarcia

The Coretta Scott King Award–winning Gone Crazy in Alabama by Newbery Honor and New York Times bestselling author Rita Williams-Garcia tells the story of the Gaither sisters as they travel from the streets of Brooklyn to the rural South for the summer of a lifetime.

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford

Underground by Shane W. Evans

A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger’s home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.

The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas

Black is dazzling and distinctive, like toasted wheat berry bread; snowberries in the fall; rich, red cranberries; and the bronzed last leaves of summer. In this lyrical and luminous poetry collection, Coretta Scott King honorees Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper celebrate these many shades of Black beautifully.

Uptown by Bryan Collier

Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier discovers the vibrant world of Harlem, New York, as seen through the eyes of a little boy

Coretta Scott King in October 1965. Photo via WikiMedia Commons.

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of San Diego

Louis Romey

ARRANGEMENTS BY ANDERSON-RAGSDALE MORTUARY

Funeral services were held on January 4, 2023 at Bethel Memorial AME Church with a burial at Miramar National Cemetery. Final arrangements were entrusted to Anderson Ragsdale Mortuary.

Louis R. Pinckney, the second child, was born to the late Louis Pinckney Sr and Virginia Jefferson Pinckney on December 11, 1949. Educated in the public schools of Charleston County, he graduated from General William Moultrie High School and further studied at Trident Technical College. He was an avid reader who was a firm believer in Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore, get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding”.

He was a Nuclear Power Plant Component Welder, Submarine Repairman and Instructor in the United States Navy, and retired as a Master Chief after thirty-four years of service. He was a member of Paul E. Kidd A.M.E. church where he served on the Trustee Board. On October 6, 1973, Louis married a special young lady who would be his life-long helpmate, Frances Elizabeth Brown. This union was blessed with three children.

Louis passed on December 20, 2022. Surviving to share his precious memories are his beloved wife Frances E. Pinckney: one daughter Jamila S. Martin of San Diego, California, two sons: Ajani (Silvia) Pinckney of National City, California, Louis (Rose) Pinckney of Moreno Valley, California; seven sisters: Earthalee Turner of Dunfries, Virginia, Perscilla Williams of Charleston, South Carolina, Emma L. Lee of Charleston, South Carolina, Clara P. Lesesne of Charleston, South Carolina, Odessa (Curtis) Wilson of Charleston, South Carolina, Virginia (David) Uthe of Greenville, South Carolina, Myra D Pinckney of Charleston, South Carolina; three brothers-in-law: George (Linda) Brown of Columbia, South Carolina, Kenneth (Shirley) Brown of Charleston, South Carolina, Nathaniel Brown of Atlanta, Georgia; five sisters-in-law: Delores L. Richardson of Washington, D.C., Marjorie Brown of Washington D.C., Phoenicia (Rev. George F.) Flowers of Charleston, South Carolina, Roxcena Rozier of College Park, Georgia, Michelle (Ben) Brinson of Valdosta, Georgia.

Dawkins

SUNRISE 10/22/1932

SUNSET 12/20/2022

ARRANGEMENTS BY PREFERRED CREMATION & BURIAL MORTUARY

Arrangements were handled by Preferred Cremation & Burial at North Park Apostolic Church on January 4, 2023.

Idelia May Inniss-Dawkins was born on October 22, 1932, in Colon Republic of Panama to the late Claude Fitznorman Inniss and the late Violette Clotilde Best-Inniss. She attended Bolivia elementary school and completed high school at Colegio Abel Bravo in Colon-Panama. She later attended “Tecnica de Contabilidad y Comercio” for accounting in Panama City-Panama. She migrated to the United States in 1971 to pursue a better life for herself and her children.

Idelia was hired for full-time employment on February 13, 1978, at Rohr Industries in Chula Vista, California, where she worked for 15 years. She began as an office clerk and transitioned to various positions including Dispatcher, Quality Assurance Inspector, and Engine-Line Assembler. After 15 years of service she was laid-off. Idelia got her insurance license and worked part-time with Primerica for a few years. She later began to work part-time for the County of San Diego at Southcrest Recreation Center. She worked for about 7 years as an office clerk.

Idelia loved her family. She loved to cook and entertain every Sunday with her delicious curry chicken or oxtail, coconut rice and peas, coleslaw, or any of her other great recipes. She played softball with her family team, enjoyed scrabble, crossword puzzles, word search, dominos, gardening, sewing, singing, dancing, playing the piano, and playing bingo. She was also a worshiper, a peacemaker, and believed in saving for rainy days.

Idelia survived breast cancer at the age 78. In 2010, she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior, was baptized in the name of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Ghost at Greater Apostolic Faith Temple Church.

On December 20, 2022, her Heavenly Father called, she answered and said “YES, YES, YES,” and took hold of His hands and walked into Glory.

Left to cherish her memory are her children: Victoria Wilmot-Lemon Grove, Angela Marie (Horacio) Jones, Nila Barrows, Ursula Lewis, Cheryl (Alfonso) Smith, Monica Tucker, Vicente (Brenda) Barrows, Nichelle Dawkins; her sisters Vilma Arroyo, Carole Miller; her brother Anselmo Inniss; 14 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, along with a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, church family, friends, and neighbors. We loved mom but God loved her best.

Frederick Leonard Guillory Jr.

SUNRISE 06/19/1985

SUNSET 12/26/2022

ARRANGEMENTS BY PREFERRED CREMATION & BURIAL MORTUARY

Arrangements were handled by Preferred Cremation & Burial at Preferred Cremation & Burial Chapel on January 7, 2023.

Frederick Leonard Guillory, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California on June 19, 1985, to Frederick Guillory, Sr., and Debra Combs. He was raised in Los Angeles and San Diego, California. Frederick grew up with his two siblings, older brother Jai-san, and younger brother, Joseph. He learned to walk before he could crawl. His favorite quote was “a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

Frederick excelled in every athletic category and was good in all sports. At a young age, Frederick was a fierce competitor always full of life and fire that could not be quenched. He especially loved to play football; like his older brother, he played running back, and his younger brother kept the tradition alive.

Frederick was a kind soul and a generous person who would give you the clothes off of his back and shoes off of his feet if it would put you in a better position in life.

Throughout his life, Frederick was referred to in many ways. He was a son and a brother. He became a father, and it is reasonable to say he considered himself a follower of the teachings of Christ.

Frederick’s life would seem too short to many, but those who were touched by him understood the quality of his existence exceeds far beyond the quantity of time in which he lived. His gentle smile, and beautiful soul brought so much joy to our family that it cannot be measured.

On December 26, 2022, at the age of 37 years, Frederick Leonard Guillory, Jr., of Spring Valley, California left this life and entered eternity. He will be lovingly remembered by his children: Bella, Tiara, Kingston, Kamauri, and Xavier; his mother Debra; his father Frederick, Sr.; his brothers: Jai-san (Tyesha) Williams and Joseph (Faith) Guillory; along with a numerous aunts, uncles, family, extended family, and friends.

Thompson Jr.

Idelia Terriel James Pinckney II

SUNRISE 07/12/1952

SUNSET 12/26/2022

ARRANGEMENTS BY PREFERRED CREMATION & BURIAL MORTUARY

Arrangements were handled by Preferred Cremation & Burial at Linda Vista Second Baptist Church on January 9, 2023

Terriel James Thompson, Jr., who was affectionately known as “Terry,” was born July 12, 1952, to the late Coreatha and Terriel James Thompson, Sr. in McLoud, Oklahoma. Terry was the eldest brother of the late Beverly A. Thompson and Shane N. Thompson. Terry grew up in San Diego, California and considered himself a life-long resident of San Diego. Terry graduated from Kearney High School and Mesa College. He worked as a carpentry journeyman before retiring. He was well-known for his savvy dance moves, strong athleticism and kind spirit. #21 holds the record for the longest touchdown run, covering 99 yards. “Linda Vista’s Finest” was best known for “cutting the rug” with the Cha Cha and James Brown.

On December 26, 2022, Terry passed away unexpectedly while in his home. Left to cherish his memory are his youngest sister Sequita A. Gaines; son Terry Thompson, III (Charlebois); grand-daughter Raquel Charleblois; niece Neco C. Thompson-Badu; nephews: Tyrus Wade II, Savion Wade, Kamari Wade; family members from McLoud, Oklahoma: The Rutledges, Fishers and Quails; family from Oklahoma City, Texas and San Diego, California; along with an abundance of friends who became family: Ali Muhammad and Katrina Hess; children: Kahleena, Sumaiya, and Ali Jr.; Carl Pope, Jennifer Bazzo, Michael Bazzo, Hoa Duong, and Lynnette Cunningham Haket.

David Edward Taylor

SUNRISE 05/28/1970

SUNSET 12/22/2022

ARRANGEMENTS BY PREFERRED CREMATION & BURIAL MORTUARY

Arrangements were handled by Preferred Cremation & Burial at Preferred Cremation & Burial Chapel on January 11, 2023 David Edward Taylor born in Detroit, Michigan, to Deborah Lynn Taylor and Michael Collier on May 28, 1970. David spent the early parts of his young life living in Detroit. He then moved to La Mesa, California with his aunt Emma Whitley starting in his pre-teen years. David was very athletic in his junior high and high school years. He played both baseball and football and was the recipient of several trophies including “Player of the Year” and “MVP” from Helix High School Football Team. After graduating high school, David attended Grossmont College in San Diego for two years before relocating back to Detroit, MI.

David worked many years in Detroit as a Warehouse Manager. In 2011, he relocated back to San Diego and worked for Whole Foods. David was a fun-loving person, who would be there for you with just one phone call. He loved to Bar-B-Que and cook for his family, as well as visit family members who were cooking.

On December 22, 2022, David entered eternity. He was preceded in death by his brother Jermaine E. Taylor, and his loving and cherished grandparents Rebecca “Mama” & Edward Taylor. Left to cherish his memory are his children: Owynn Patterson (Dominique), Onjoli Jones, Dominic Hatcher, Amir Wright, Jermaine, Jacoby, Jamil, Mallorie, Alexi, and Amari Taylor; his love: Darcelle Hatcher; his mother Deborah Taylor; his brother Michael Stricklin; aunts: Emma Whitley, Rene Mclaughlin (Randy) of Canton, MI; and Lisa Fitzpatrick; nieces: Shakya and Micah; nephew Asante; a host of aunts, uncles, and cousins; along with lifelong friends: Curtis Vasser and Toby McCoy who all loved him very much.

Lack of Access to COVID-19 Treatments Plagues Black Patients

Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media

With the celebrations of the holidays behind us – and as we enter the coldest months of the year -- Medical exp erts are warning of a winter surge of COVID-19 cases. They expect the spike in infections to be accompanied by waves of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the common flu. Access to care and treatment are crucial in the battle to minimize the damage this triple threat could cause, they say.

After three years of the COVID19 pandemic, the treatment options available to the public have expanded significantly.

However, consistent with trends associated with this pandemic, access to these treatments have been harder to come by for communities of color.

According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), 37% of White people with COVID19 symptoms received treatment compared to 20% of Black people who received care.

Part of this issue is associated with the increase in virtual assistance in medical matters following the need for social distancing.

The disparity in access to telehealth services correlates with the disparity in internet access – a phe-

nomenon referred to as the digital divide.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey data shows that 17% of Black households are without access to the Internet.

During a video press conference on COVID treatments, Dr. Rita Nguyen, California Assistant Health Officer and Director of Population Health at CDPH, said, “The CDC demonstrated what we expected would happen. Anytime something new comes on the market, communities of color have disproportionately low access.”

Also participating in the video press conference, Dr. Oliver Brooks, chief medical officer of the Watts Healthcare Corporation in Los Angeles suggested the access problem might be due to inadequate outreach to the community.

“Treatment doesn’t work if you don’t take it or get offered it,” said Brooks. “So, as a person you need to advocate, you need to know about treatments and then say, ‘If I tested positive, do I take this pill or do I take something?’”

There are compounding factors that contribute to disparities, such as personal finances and education.

But Brooks made the point that these disparities persist for African Americans regardless of such factors.

“Studies show that when you factor out income, education, where someone lives and employment, African Americans still have higher rates of everything bad and lower rates of everything good,” said Brooks. “It is not just social determinants of health that lead to adverse outcomes for African Americans, it is institutional racism.”

According to Brooks, this is not unique to COVID-19 treatment. It is indicative of a larger issue Black people have to overcome in dealing with the healthcare system.

“It has also been shown that African American patients are less likely to be given pain medicine when they go to the ER,” said Brooks, offering an example of a disparity apparent in another type of case.

Californians in rural areas are also less likely to have access to the proper treatments.

As is the case with other groups, people in rural areas struggle with access to telehealth services.

Some of the new treatments available are the antivirals Paxlovid, Molnupiravir and Remdesivir.

Paxlovid, offered for free, must be started within the first five days after symptoms begin.

Molnupiravir, Paxlovid’s alternative, is also free and must be start -

ed within the first five days after symptoms start.

Both of these antivirals are available to those who are undocumented or without health insurance.

Remdesivir, however, is not free. It is administered via infusions and must be started within seven days of when symptoms begin.

Anyone 12 and over with symptoms are eligible for COVID-19 treatments and are encouraged to speak with their doctors.

Experts advise people to test as soon as they have symptoms.

“Don’t wait till the illness gets worse,” said Nguyen. “If you start feeling a runny nose, cough, or generally not like yourself, act fast and take a COVID test. If you test positive, seek treatment right away.”

To combat healthcare disparities on an individual basis, Brooks urges patients to advocate for themselves.

PHOTO: CBM

GREATER LIFE CHURCH SAN DIEGO Finds A Permanent Home

On Sunday, January 1, 2023, in the city of Lemon Grove, praises erupted throughout the new facility of Greater Life Church located at 2770 Glebe Road, Lemon Grove, California. The church was filled to capacity with its members, special guests and community supporters.

In honor of celebrating the milestones of accomplishment, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the grand opening of the facility. Lead Servant, Pastor Nate Stewart and Lady Zykina, Elder Joe and Janet Chatman gave powerful and encouraging words to offset the occasion. As the celebration continued, praises erupted as the Greater Life Church (GLC) praise dance team and choir set the tone for worship.

The lead Servant, Pastor Nate Stewart who has taken the city of San Diego by storm after moving to California from Atlanta, Georgia. Affectionately called Pastor Nate, he has become a highly sought-after speaker and teacher traveling throughout the country conducting revivals, workshops, and seminars and is author of a book called The Servants’ Playbook

Greater Life Church San Diego was blessed to have an outpouring of support from several local churches, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders, who attended this celebration. Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez has personally welcomed the church to the city of Lemon Grove, The Black Political Associations of California San Diego (BAPAC) as well as many others who did not allow the weather conditions stop them from attending, supporting and celebrating this great occasion.

God continues to pour out blessings upon Greater Life Church as they continue to own and occupy the original land located at 1012 Derby Street, San Diego. The church has reached another milestone of celebrating 50 years of existence. The church was founded by the late Dr. Willie E. Manley, a great servant and community leader in the city of San Diego. In honor of his services, it has been established and agreed upon to change the name of Derby Street to Wille E. Manley Way. This great celebration will commence May 7th through May 10th, 2023.

Article and Photos courtesy of Pearlie Blackmon Cotton

In the last few years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLK parade has been cancelled. For your enjoyment, we are presenting highlights from past parades and community celebrations. Included here is a history of the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade by the late Dr Robert Matthews, who gave more than 30 years of leadership to the event. See page 24 for this year’s MLK parade routes.

THE

LOCAL

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade History in San Diego

By the Late Dr. Robert Matthews Added notes by Dr. John E. Warren

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade in San Diego started in 1980 at the Knox Elementary School on 49th Street. It was organized by Dr. Francine Wells. This was before there was a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday or even a desire in San Diego to name a street after Dr. King, as so many other cities had done. The Knox Elementary School parade, which started on the school playground, was led by Dr. Goodwin, then Superintendent of Schools for San Diego.

In 1981, a committee was formed to continue the parade. It was funded by the National Christian Foundation until 1985. It was in 1986 that the Alpha Phi Fraternity took on the responsibility of coordinating the parade. Dr. Carol Reeves and Dr. Robert are the only original Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers who remain on the Parade Committee.

Prior to the creation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National holiday, all parades of significance in San Diego were held on Broadway. As a means of validating Dr. King, the Parade moved from the community route which had grown to include 47th St., Imperial Avenue to Euclid Avenue and Euclid Avenue to Logan to downtown Broadway.

After the establishment of the Federal Holiday in honor of Dr. King, all parades downtown were moved to Harbor Drive, with the exception of the King Parade. The initial reason was that the other parades took place during the week and did not interfere with cruiseship schedules as the industry began to grow in San Diego. The King Parade ended up marching around Petco Park’s Parking lot, which was a disgrace to many. After more talks with the San Diego Port Authority, it was agreed that the parade could take place on Harbor Drive on Sunday afternoons until this day.

Photo by: Brian Goodin

elebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Harbor Drive for the 41st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade! This is one of the largest celebrations of its kind in the United States in honor of

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The parade is filled with dazzling floats, phenomenal High School Bands, Drill Teams, Colleges/ Universities, Fraternities, Sororities, Churches, Peace and Youth organizations.

This parade is coordinated by the Zeta Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the oldest African American fraternity in America, founded in 1906. The seven men who founded this organization at Cornell

University in Ithaca New York recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants in this country. Dr. King was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Come and join your community

and help continue the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This event supports scholarship opportunities for the youth of San Diego. For more information, visit https://www.sandiegoalphas. com/mlk-parade.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

LEGAL NOTICES

San Diego, CA 92115 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 03/22/2013

This business is hereby registered by the following: Maskadan A. Pham 4577 51st St. San Diego, CA 92115

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 21, 2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Jose Delio Bacalski 615 9th St. Unit 8 Imperial Beach, CA 91932

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 1, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 1, 2027 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027647

the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 15, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 15, 2027 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027299

Classified ads can be placed in person, by phone, fax, or email

Monday-Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

P:619-266-2233 F:619-266-0533 E:ads@sdvoice.info

• Full Name

• Billing address

• Date(s) you want the ad to appear

• Contact phone number

All classified ads are prepaid.

Deadline is Tuesdays by NOON to run that week.

December 19, 2022 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

LEGAL NOTICES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2023-9000457

Fictitious business name(s): AHIAM CAB Located at: 1501 San Altos Pl. Lemon Grove, CA 91945 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 1/09/2023

This business is hereby registered by the following: Shegow Baana 1501 San Altos Pl. Lemon Grove, CA 91945

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on January 9, 2023

This fictitious business name will expire on January 9, 2028 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027776

Fictitious business name(s): Flipmore Factory Located at: 20301 Bluffside Circle Apt. 409 Huntington Beach, CA 92646 County of Orange This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 12/23/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Abdallah Mohammad Hunaiti 20301 Bluffside Circle Apt. 409 Huntington Beach, CA 92646

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 23, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 23, 2027 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2023-9000316

Fictitious business name(s): Laineus Roseline Family Child Care Located at: 4904 67th St. San Diego, CA 92115 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 10/22/2020

This business is hereby registered by the following: Roseline Laineus 4904 67th St. San Diego, CA 92115

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on January 6, 2023

This fictitious business name will expire on January 6, 2028 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2023-9000194

Fictitious business name(s): Afro Theatres Located at: 4164 Cherokee Ave. F San Diego, CA 92104 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company

The first day of business was: 1/31/1991

This business is hereby registered by the following: Afro Theatres 4164 Cherokee Ave. F San Diego, CA 92104

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on January 5, 2023 This fictitious business name will expire on January 5, 2028 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2023-9000193

Fictitious business name(s): YAR Vibes Kitchen & Lounge Located at: 7833 Longdale Dr. Lemon Grove, CA 91945 County of San Diego P.O. Box 26841 San Diego, CA 92196 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company The first day of business was: 12/26/2022 This business is hereby registered by the following: YAR Vibes Kitchen & Lounge 4164 Cherokee Ave. F San Diego, CA 92104 This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on January 5, 2023 This fictitious business name will expire on January 5, 20278 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027957

Fictitious business name(s): Santee Auto Center Located at: 10315 Mission Gorge Rd. Santee, CA 92071 County of San Diego 10580 Prospect Ave. Ste. 200 Santee, CA 92071 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the name(s) above This business is hereby registered by the following: The Schoolyard LLC 10580 Prospect Ave. Ste. 200 Santee, CA 92071 This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 28, 2022 This fictitious business name will expire on December 28, 2027 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027872

Fictitious business name(s): E&E Heavy Haul Logistics Located at: 1370 Don Carlos CT Chula Vista, CA 91910 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: An Individual The first day of business was: 12/27/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Edward Alejandro Enriquez Lamas 1370 Don Carlos CT Chula Vista, CA 91910

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 27, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 27, 2027 1/05, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027644

Fictitious business name(s): Eco Smart Pest Management Located at: 4577 51st St.

This fictitious business name will expire on December 21, 2027 1/05, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027728

Fictitious business name(s): Clean I Love San Diego Located at: 3549 Menlo Ave. San Diego, CA 92105 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Partnership

The first day of business was: 12/22/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Steven Phong 19536 Springport Dr. Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Jose Sifuentes 5040 Comanche Dr. Apt. 23 La Mesa, CA 91942

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 22, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 22, 2027 1/05, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027867

Fictitious business name(s): Lao Salon Located at: 110 47th St. San Diego, CA 92102 County of San Diego 6111 Federal Blvd. San Diego, CA 92114 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: An Individual The first day of business was: 12/27/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Johnny Philavong 6111 Federal Blvd. San Diego, CA 92114 This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 27, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 27, 2027 1/05, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027636

Fictitious business name(s): Dobson & Dobson Located at: 1930 Springer Rd. San Diego, CA 92105 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: An Individual The first day of business was: 02/09/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Dobby Dobson Parchment 1930 Springer Rd. San Diego, CA 92105 This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 21, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 21, 2027 1/05, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9026157

Fictitious business name(s): Nerd Recycling

Nerd Electronics Located at: 615 9th St. Unit 8 Imperial Beach, CA 91932 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: An Individual The first day of business was: 11/05/2022

Fictitious business name(s): Blue Signal LLC Located at: 9071 Dallas St. #B37 La Mesa, CA 91942 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company The first day of business was: 7/22/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Blue Signal LLC 9071 Dallas St. #B37 La Mesa, CA 91942

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 21, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 21, 2027 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027316

Fictitious business name(s): The Daily Grind Cafe Located at: 6695 El Cajon Blvd. San Diego, CA 92115 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: Married Couple Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the name(s) above This business is hereby registered by the following: Isabel D Lopez Acevedo 3946 58th St. Apt. 163 San Diego, CA 92115

Maria Lopez Vargas 3946 58th. St. Apt. 163 San Diego, CA 92115

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 15, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 15, 2027 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9026834

Fictitious business name(s): The Sankofa Cache Located at: 1035 Fourth Ave. #31 Chula Vista, CA 91911 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: An Individual Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the name(s) above This business is hereby registered by the following: Rosell Antoinette Williams 1035 Fourth Ave. #31 Chula Vista, CA 91911 This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 09, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 09, 2027 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9027117

Fictitious business name(s): Top Notch HVAC & Appliance Handyman Located at: 5065 Cervantes Ave. San Diego, CA 92113 County of San Diego 8845 Jaylee Ave. Spring Valley, CA 91977 County of San Diego This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 11/24/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Anthony Robinson Jr. 8845 Jaylee Ave. Spring Valley, CA 91977

This statement was filed with

Fictitious business name(s): Taxima Located at: 8264 Flanders Dr. Apt. 2 San Diego, CA 92126 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 12/12/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Hormoz Khodadadisharifabad 8264 Flanders Dr. Apt. 2 San Diego, CA 92126

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 15, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 15, 2027 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9026928

Fictitious business name(s): Leo's Dressers for Less Located at: 4511 Delta St. San Diego, CA 92113 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: A Married Couple

The first day of business was: 12/13/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Leopoldo Chavez 4511 Delta St. San Diego, CA 92113

Maria E Chavez 4511 Delta St. San Diego, CA 92113

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on December 13, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on December 13, 2027 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2022-9025806

Fictitious business name(s): StarBites Located at: 1005 Bollenbacher St. San Diego, CA 92114 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: An Individual

The first day of business was: 09/01/2022

This business is hereby registered by the following: Starlah Antonique Lane 1005 Bollenbacher St. San Diego, CA 92114

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on November 28, 2022

This fictitious business name will expire on November 28, 2027 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME 2022-9027469

Fictitious business name(s) to be abandoned:

Long's HVACR Located at: 5725 Mira Flores Dr. San Diego, CA 92114 County of San Diego

This business is conducted by: An Individual

The Fictitious business name referred to above was filed in San Diego County on: 05/20/2021 and assigned File no. 2021-9010116

The fictitious business name is being abandoned by: Dearcy Long 5725 Mira Flores Dr. San Diego, CA 92114

This statement was filed with the Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice 37-2023-00000172CU-PT-CTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Kieran Steele Mikael Chung

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Kieran Steele Mikael Chung filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Kieran Steele Mikael Chung

PROPOSED NAME: Kieran Steele Mikael Wolf

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: February 16, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. C-61

(To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website, go to www.courts.ca.gov/findmy-court.htm.)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date

specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions. If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Central Division Hall of Justice 37-2023-00000038CU-PT-CTL Petitioner or Attorney: Dennis J. Grimes Jr.

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Dennis James Grimes Jr. filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Dennis James Grimes Jr.

PROPOSED NAME: Kamal Ajani Muhammad

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: February 15, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

(To appear remotely, check in advance of the hearing for information about how to do so on the court's website. To find your court's website, go to www.courts.ca.gov/findmy-court.htm.)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport,

and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/02

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice 37-2022-00051134-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Thomas F. Miles #71956 Attorney and Counselor at Law Attorney for: Yolanda Marie Fontenette

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Yolanda Marie Fontenette filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Yolanda Marie Fontenette

PROPOSED NAME: Tiamoyo Sukumu

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF

Date: February 6, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

FICTITIOUS

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101

Central Division Hall of Justice 37-2022-00050746-CU-PT-

CTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Christina Candace Clermont

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Christina Candace Clermont filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Christina Candace Clermont

PROPOSED NAME: Christina Candace Clermont-Piperku

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: February 1, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO

SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice Courthouse 37-2022-00035706-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Hailey Anne Ramos AKA Hailey Anne Hood on behalf of minor child

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner

Hailey Anne Ramos AKA Hailey Anne Hood on behalf of minor child filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

a. PRESENT NAME: Hailey Anne Ramos AKA Hailey Anne Hood

PROPOSED NAME: Le Reveland

b. PRESENT NAME: Remi Castiel Ramos

PROPOSED NAME: Remi Castiel Ramos-Reveland

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of

name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: February 1, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is:

330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/29, 1/05, 1/12, 1/19

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA

County of San Diego

330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice Courthouse 37-2022-00049791-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Alondra Padilla Maciel AKA Alondra Loftis Padilla

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Alondra Padilla Maciel AKA Alondra Loftis Padilla filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Alondra Padilla Maciel AKA Alondra Loftis Padilla

PROPOSED NAME:

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: January 26, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice Courthouse 37-2022-00050100-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Abena Abdallah on behalf of minor child

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Abena Adballah on behalf of minor child filed a petition with this court

for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Aiyanah Elizabeth Rivers PROPOSED NAME: Aiyanah Berknesh Abdallah-Rivers

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: January 31, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Civil Division 37-2022-00049523-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Bryan Alexsys

Jimenez Beltran

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Bryan Alexsys Jimenez Beltran filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Bryan Alexsys Jimenez Beltran

PROPOSED NAME: Bryan Alexsys Beltran

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: January 25, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

NO HEARING

WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee.

Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will

notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Hall of Justice 37-2022-00049820-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Kheimyahciara Braundicae Dudley AKA Kheimyahciara Brundicae Alexander AKA Keimyahciara Braundicae Bell

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Kheimyahciara Braundicae Dudley AKA Kheimyahciara Brundicae Alexander AKA Keimyahciara Braundicae Bell filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Kheimyahciara Braundicae Dudley AKA Kheimyahciara Brundicae Alexander AKA Keimyahciara Braundicae Bell

PROPOSED NAME: Kheimyahciara Braundicae Bell

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: January 26, 2023 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept. 61

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.

For hearing appearance information please visit www.sdcourt.ca.gov

The court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One copy of the Order Granting the Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security

card, driver license, passport, and other identification, a certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that needs to be changed, to determine if a certified copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be obtained from the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If a timely objection is filed, the court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date

Any Petition for the name change of a minor that is signed by only one parent must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other nonsigning parent, and proof of service must be filed with the court.

The address of the court is: 330 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 12/22, 12/29, 1/05, 1/12

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of San Diego 330 West Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 Superior Court 37-2022-00049210-CU-PTCTL

Petitioner or Attorney: Larry Donell Lynch

To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Larry Donell Lynch filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows:

PRESENT NAME: Larry Donell Lynch

PROPOSED NAME: Isaiah Ben Israel

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before

Alondra Padilla Loftis