A HOLIDAY FIT FOR A KING EVENTS STRESS LABOR RIGHTS, VOLUNTEERISM, PEACE.Byline: Michael Gougis Staff Writer Paying tribute Monday to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., tens of thousands of Southern Californians marched against gang violence, rallied for labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. and encouraged youths to embrace volunteer work. ``This is the biggest crowd I've ever seen,'' said Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California as he rode through the streets of South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. in the 19th annual Kingdom Day parade. Most banks, government offices and schools were closed to mark the national holiday honoring King, who was assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. 35 years ago. He would have turned 75 last week. City and state leaders and union officials joined striking Southern California grocery workers at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade that celebrated King's commitment to labor rights. Thousands gathered under sunny skies to watch high school marching bands and prancing horses share the parade route with striking workers and a Teamsters Teamsters large, powerful union of U. S. truckers. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 2703] See : Labor truck that honked every few feet. The parade marked the 100th day of a strike by 70,000 Southern California grocery clerks who are hoping to protect health care benefits. ``We've never seen American companies work so hard to try to take away what U.S. laborers have fought so hard and so long for,'' Hahn said at a rally before the parade. King emerged as a prominent civil rights leader after leading a bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955 and 1956 that gave African-Americans the right to sit alongside whites. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), civil-rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King, Jr., and headed by him until his assassination in 1968. , won the Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is the name of one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. and successfully fought for federal legislation protecting the right of African-Americans to vote. Having won significant civil rights, King had turned his attention to labor and economic issues at the time of his assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. in April 1968. Outside the Los Angeles Sports Arena, hundreds gathered at a rally dubbed the 100,000 Man March, an event that kicked off a new initiative against gang violence. ``We have to take responsibility for our neighborhoods. We have to hold our elected officials responsible. Commit to the neighborhood from your heart,'' urged Daude Sherrills, a former gang member credited with organizing a truce between Bloods and Crips in 1992. Organizers said that more than 15,000 youths have been murdered in Los Angeles County since 1990 in gang violence. ``We want to shed light on it and show these young men that older African-American men are there that care and want to help,'' said organizer Lester Jackson. In one of the largest commemorations, Hahn, Assembly Speaker-elect Fabian Nunez, Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson and Secretary of State Kevin Shelley joined hundreds of people who marched through South Los Angeles in the annual Kingdom Day Parade. Tens of thousands of spectators turned out to view the pageant that wound its way down the street named after King. ``Through his struggles, he showed that one person, persevering for a just and honorable cause, could change the world,'' Nunez said. In West Los Angeles
The program, presented by author Cathryn Berger Kaye and titled ``A Day On, Not a Day Off,'' drew an auditorium full of attendees, mostly children. ``The important message ... the lessons learned, the imperative to remember, to celebrate, to act, is part of the mission of the Museum of Tolerance each and every day,'' said Liebe Geft, museum director. Later in the day, entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte was set to serve as keynote speaker for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles' 27th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Dinner Celebration. Recognized for their work in the field of civil rights activism were Belafonte, Father Gregory Boyle, John John Boyle was born October 28, 1774, near Tazewell in Botetourt County, Virginia. He was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1797 and established a legal practice in Lancaster, Kentucky, before entering government service. Mack of the Los Angeles Urban League, and television and radio personality Tavis Smiley. And in Sylmar, the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Interfaith Council chose to begin its 40th Anniversary Celebration with an interfaith service honoring King. Daily News wire services contributed to this report. Michael Gougis, (818) 713-3762 michael.gougis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) At the 100,000 Man March on Monday, Nzingha E embraces a woman whose 18-year-old grandson was killed recently. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (2) A young woman watches the annual Kingdom Day parade in South Los Angeles on Monday. Nick Ut/Associated Press (3) KING |
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