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Health & Fitness

UNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

Each January, Long Beach sponsors a march on the national holiday of Martin Luther King Day.  I have enjoyed marching in this civic parade many times.

I am proud of the American tradition of Civil Rights, and the great sacrifices we have made for civil rights as a people. For example, the Civil War showed how far caring Americans would go for justice. There is no one figure who was the key to civil rights; many have shared the charge for social justice. We distil the best of the message of civil rights champions doing their best for justice. 

So I have an idea.  We should rename the holiday "Civil Rights Day" to raise general consciousness of the mandate to seek social justice and to honor the many:  Abraham Lincoln, Dorothy Day, John F. Kennedy, Susan B. Anthony, as well as Martin Luther King. We can honor the past by commemorating them in the present to inspire for the future!

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The idea is not without precedent. George Washington’s Birthday is now called “President’s Day.” Columbus Day is frequently observed as “Dia de la Raza” or “Italian Heritage Day.”  Even Christmas is referred to as “Holiday.”  Labor Day is not limited to “Anthony Lewis Day” or such.   Even the 2014 Long Beach MLK Parade itself is jointly honoring both Martin Luther King and recently-deceased civil rights champion Nelson Mandela at the January 20 event this year.

“Civil Rights Day” should still fall, early in the year, around the birthday of Martin Luther King.  However, I think it’s a good idea to expand the celebration each January to honor the entire American Civil Rights Movement.  What do you think?

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