MLK Day speakers in Merced want to keep 'moving the dream forward'

Monday marked Merced’s 22nd annual celebration honoring the man best known for his work during the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hundreds gathered at the Merced County Fair Grounds on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in the morning and marched to the Merced Theater. Some held banners, others played instruments or waved signs and flags.

This year’s theme was “moving the dream forward” and various speakers talked about the importance of kindness, collaborating and working with each other rather than against.

Dr. Whitney Pirtle, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California at Merced, spoke about the influence Martin Luther King Jr. Day has had in her life and how in high school she and her classmates decided to leave class on MLK Day in protest so they’d get the day off.

“We just left our classrooms sat in hallways and won,” she told the crowd. “So the next year the whole district was off and I just think that’s what Martin wants, right? Us to think about what we can do better, work for it and make the change.”

Pirtle, who said she was the first African American woman hired in the school of social sciences at UC Merced, also highlighted black women who have either fought during the civil rights movement, like Diane Nash, or have spoken out against inequalities, like herself and singer Solange Knowles.

A message Pirtle wanted to leave the audience with, “especially black women,” was to “reclaim your space, reclaim your time, make a seat at the table.”

The vision King had included “nonviolence, cooperation and communication,” event organizer Tamara Cobb, chair person for the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, told the Sun-Star. She said she hopes that’s what people take away from the event and youth are encouraged to move forward with the vision.

Monica Velez: 209-385-2485, @monicavelez21

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 4:19 PM with the headline "MLK Day speakers in Merced want to keep 'moving the dream forward'."