Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorations and events in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Monday, Jan. 16 we look back at the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his message.
In the Pikes Peak Region, multiple committees, nonprofits, businesses, and organizations are coming together to hold a series of commemorations today in honor of Dr. King.
The series of events began Monday morning at 7:30 with a breakfast social hour and discussion at Colorado College, followed by speakers. A unity MLK march then took place at 10 a.m. to Acacia Park, followed by a series of programs at the park consisting of performers and speakers.
The Pikes Peak Diversity Council along with Colorado College, the City of Colorado Springs, and the Pikes Peak Library District hold this commemoration every year to bring a local celebration to the region.
"We are a cultural mecca here in Colorado Springs because of the military and people moving in," Pikes Peak Diversity Council President Shirley Martinez said. "We want individuals in our community, not just Colorado Springs but across El Paso County. We want everybody to start thinking about what is it that we need to be doing together to live Martin Luther King Jr's dream."
They've been doing this for 20 years in Colorado Springs. But this is the first celebration held in person in 3 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Its been a wonderful opportunity to engage with the community and with folks that are like minded who really want to bring these issues to the forefront and not isolate ourselves which happens often I think," MLK Commemoration Co-Chair Rosalie Rodriguez said.
Organizers say they're committed to advocating for equity, justice, diversity, and inclusion.
"We want everybody to start thinking about what is it that we need to be doing together to live Martin Luther King Jr's dream," Martinez said. "This is our way of saying we believe in the dream and we will continue with the dream."
"What King's legacy stood for bringing people together, the strength of community, seeing the community come together in his name to celebrate his birthday and remember what he stood for and how we can live out those ideas today," MLK Commemoration Co-Chair Danielle Summerville said. "He was about service and there are service opportunities in this community. I would encourage people to take a look and see what types of service activities there are. So I really encourage people to see, how can I make this community a better place."
"I believe working with different nonprofits, in our community of homeless, our veterans," Martinez said. "We have a high suicide rate, we have youth that are having various mental issues. So we need to start coming together as a community to help each other and live the dream that Martin saw. We have housing issues, there's so many things you can get involved in and be a part of. You don't have to do it all, you can just pick one thing, that will make a difference."
The commemoration and series of events Monday is a local opportunity for the community to strengthen by coming together to honor Dr. King's legacy of non-violence, service, equity, justice, peace, respect, and inclusion.
"His legacy is so important to the American story and who we are as a people coming together, and we should all be doing that every single day," Rodriguez said. "This should be a jump start to remind us what those principals are to carry us through the entire year."
This year, organizers say they had a higher turnout at the morning events than ever before.
"Colorado springs is one of the best places to live and one of the reasons why is our strength in our diversity," Summerville said. "So to be able to come to something local and say the community I live in is hosting an event means a lot to our community."
The day's events end with a gospel music dance group performance at 7 p.m. at Armstrong Hall at Colorado College.
