Merced County MLK Day marches aim for unity, change and service

“What are you doing for others?”

Those were the words on a pin worn by Tamara Cobb on Monday as she, along with hundreds of others, participated in Merced’s 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

“That’s why we march – to give back and unite the community,” said Cobb, this year’s committee chair for the holiday parade along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The holiday – signed into legislation in 1983 – was officially designated as a “day of service” in 1994 to empower individuals, strengthen communities, create solutions to social problems and move closer to King’s vision of a “beloved community,” according to the Corporation for National Community Service, the group charged by Congress with leading the service effort.

Each year, Merced celebrates the iconic civil rights leader with a march that brings together dozens of community organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, local law enforcement, City Council members, county supervisors, churches, schools, UC Merced, businesses, the Boys & Girls Club and many more youth and nonprofit organizations.

Cobb said the event started 20 years ago with a group of churches that came together. To this day, local groups gather the night before the march for a community potluck to discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. influenced the lives of individuals, she said.

“To me, that’s the best part,” Cobb said.

Helping lead the march this year was Cecil Moore, an 89-year-old World War II veteran – someone who truly knows the definition of service. Moore rode his red motorized bicycle at the front of the processional, with its attached American flags waving in the wind.

“I just help out. That’s my job,” he said.

For Yvonne Davis, the grand marshal of this year’s parade, the day was an opportunity to honor the legacy of her late husband.

“He’s always been my hero,” Davis, 82, said of her husband, Denard, who died in September.

The Davises moved to Merced in the 1960s for teaching jobs and became mentors for black students. They soon became active in the community, working to better black neighborhoods and acquiring the nicknames “Mr. D and Mrs. D.”

In Los Banos, this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration started with a march from City Hall to the Falasco Arts Center. Dozens of people joined in on the event, which has been around for more than 20 years.

On behalf of the event’s theme: “Together We Can Create Change,” several local pastors shared a message of unity during a program that followed the march.

“Before we can change our society, we must first change ourselves,” the Rev. Stephen Hammond, the ceremony’s keynote speaker, told those in attendance.

Vondell McKenzie, president of the NAACP in Los Banos, said the event is an educational and cultural opportunity for residents, especially younger people, to learn more about King’s contributions to society. McKenzie said she was particularly proud of this year’s diverse group that came together to honor King.

“We’ve had more people from different nationalities at this march than at any other,” McKenzie said. She expects the march to continue growing as the years go by.

Back in Merced, Shamisha Evans brought her whole family to the march for the first time. Her son played in the band, which was a combination of students from various Merced schools.

“I wanted my children to experience a little bit of history,” Evans said.

The march ended at the Merced County Fairgrounds, where the pavilion was packed with people who enjoyed performances by children.

There, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, noted how far the nation has come since King’s work in the 1950s and ’60s, but urged community members to continue working to “realize a more perfect union.”

“Rededicate yourselves to be the ‘better angels,’ ” Costa said, “so his (King’s) dream can be a reality.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Merced County MLK Day marches aim for unity, change and service."