Variety of tributes planned for MLK holiday weekend

Shavon Wauford, of Gallup, carries a pair of signs with a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. during a march last year along Route 66 in Gallup. (Independent File Photo)

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Gallup's annual tribute to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. will involve numerous events over this holiday weekend. This year's theme is "The Struggle Continues," and the public is welcome to attend all the events.

El Morro Theater, 207 W. Coal, will be hosting the first event tonight with the 7 p.m. showing of "When We Were Kings." This Academy Award-winning documentary is about the "Rumble in the Jungle," the 1974 boxing match in Zaire between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, the reigning Heavyweight Champion of the World. The film also includes footage of some of America's top musical entertainers who were performing in a music festival that was organized in conjunction with the boxing match. Admission to the film is $2. Cake will be served after the film in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

"Songs of Peace and Freedom," an annual tribute by local musicians, will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday at The Coffee House, 203 W. Coal. Area folk musicians will spend the evening singing music from the civil rights and peace movements. The event is free and the public is welcome join in with the music making.

At 3 p.m. on Sunday, a Unity Gospel Fest will be held at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. The gospel music event will be a birthday celebration in memory of the late civil rights leader. The Rehoboth High School Choir is scheduled to perform. The church is located on Gallup's northside, near Pep Boys.

On Monday, the official Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, several annual events are scheduled. The first is the Unity Faith Prayer Breakfast at 9 a.m. at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. The breakfast cost is $3 per person.

Gallery 211 will be hosting its annual student art and poetry show to commemorate King's birth. This year's show, "I Believe I Can Fly," features the photography, paintings, and poetry of second and third graders at Washington Elementary School. The children are the students of teachers Clarissa Begay, Anita Doetsch, and Azura Aretino. From 10 a.m. to noon, the gallery, located at 211 W. Coal, will host a reception for the children and their families.

Gallup's Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day March of Unity will begin with the Interfaith Prayer Circle at noon on Monday at the dance arena located in the east parking lot of the Gallup Cultural Center. Each year representatives of different faith communities join together to offer prayers for peace and unity. In addition, Quintella Lyons, representing the Gallup NAACP, will read an excerpt from King's April 4, 1967 address at the Riverside Church.

At the conclusion of the prayer gathering, at about 1 p.m., the March of Unity will begin. The march begins at the Gallup Cultural Center and ends at the Larry Brian Mitchell Recreation Center on Maloney. A flag honor guard will lead the march, followed by a fire truck, bus, and the marchers. A sanitation truck will follow at the rear of the march to honor the memory of the historic strike by sanitation workers.

The day's events will conclude at the recreation center with a short program that features more civil rights era music and the presentation of community service awards. This year's special guest speaker will be Sylvester Stanley, Gallup's Chief of Police.

For more information about this year's MLK celebration, contact Mona Frazier at 722-9565.