Mayor Bob Filner, Former Freedom Rider, Will Headline All Peoples Celebration

January 21, 2013 at 10 am (doors open at 9 am)
San Diego Public Market, Barrio Logan
1735 National Ave, San Diego

San Diego: Alliance San Diego is hosting the 25th All Peoples Celebration (also known as the All People’s Breakfast), honoring the living legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For 25 years, this dynamic and energizing event has brought together people from all backgrounds to advance Dr. King’s vision of a world where all people are treated as equals, with dignity and respect.

“We are excited to announce that Mayor Bob Filner will be our keynote speaker and will address our theme, The Art of Change” says event organizer Christopher Wilson. Mayor Filner first became an agent of change at the young age of 18 when he boarded a Greyhound bus and traveled through the Deep South as one of the Freedom Riders challenging racial segregation.

In June 1961, after pulling into the bus station in Jackson, Mississippi, Filner was arrested along with his co-riders for “disturbing the peace and inciting a riot.” Filner refused to post bond and remained imprisoned for two months. His case and the cases of the other activists were eventually overturned by the Supreme Court, which also overturned the laws of racial segregation.

“I’ve never been a passive person. I’ve always felt that, if you think something should be changed, it’s your responsibility to actively pursue that change,” he later stated reflecting on his experience as a Freedom Rider that helped fuel a movement to change unjust laws.

Watch Bob Filner’s video on his experience as a freedom rider.

Mayor Filner subsequently went on to earn a doctorate, teach history at San Diego State University, serve on the San Diego school board and city council, and serve for 20 years as a U.S. Representative in Congress. On December 3, he was sworn in as San Diego’s new mayor.

Our program will include local artists who will interpret The Art of Change as an expression of social justice. The All Peoples Celebration will take place at 10 am in the developing San Diego Public Market, in the heart of Barrio Logan. Doors will open at 9 am and we will broadcast the presidential inauguration until our program starts. Tickets are on sale at www.alliancesd.org.

MLK Events:

32nd Annual Martin Luther King Day Parade
Sunday, January 20, 2013, 2:00 p.m.
Harbor Drive, Embarcardero

Celebrate the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a waterfront parade on January 20, 2013. This is one of the largest celebrations of its kind in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States.

This parade is coordinated by the Zeta Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest Black fraternity in America, founded in 1906. The seven men who founded this organization at Cornell University in New York recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants in this country. Dr. King was also an Alpha.

Martin Luther King Jr. celebration honors local civic leaders

The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will be celebrated by the city of Oceanside and the North San Diego County NAACP with a community prayer breakfast and awards ceremony Jan. 21 at the Junior Seau Community Center.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Award acknowledges outstanding community civic leaders.

This year Ray Clendening, Marcus Snead and Max Disposti have been nominated to receive the award. Their civic achievements will be acknowledged at the ceremony.Joan Parks, founder of the Community Prayer Breakfast, will also be honored.

The breakfast and awards ceremony will be held at 7 a.m. Jan. 21 at the Junior Seau Beach Community Center. Tickets for the event are available through the North San Diego County NAACP office located at 605 San Diego Street. Tickets will also be available on site the day of the event.