Civil rights activist and NAACP
Chairman Julian Bond to keynote Jan. 16
Martin Luther King Jr. Community
Celebration

January 3 , 2008

Civil rights leader Julian Bond, Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will be the keynote speaker at the 2008 Snohomish County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Community Celebration. The event takes place at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 16, at the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center at Everett Events Center – 2000 Hewitt Ave.

Bond’s featured presentation is the culmination of a day full of free proceedings open to the public and derived from the theme “Lest We Forget.”

According to the NAACP, from his student days to his current Chairmanship of the organization, Bond has been an active participant in the movements for civil rights and economic justice. As an activist who has faced jail for his convictions, as a veteran of more than 20 years’ service in the Georgia General Assembly, a university professor and a writer, he has been on the cutting edge of social change since 1960.

Bond served as a commentator on America's Black Forum, the oldest black-owned show in television syndication. His poetry and articles have appeared in numerous publications. He has narrated numerous documentaries, including the Academy Award-winning A Time for Justice and the prize-winning and critically acclaimed series Eyes on the Prize.

In 2002, Bond received the prestigious National Freedom Award.

The holder of 25 honorary degrees, he is a Distinguished Professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and a Professor in history at the University of Virginia.

The City of Everett, Snohomish County, YMCA of Snohomish County and United Way of Snohomish County are co-organizers for this year’s celebration, planning a day of events meant to honor Dr. King’s dream of creating a unified community with the promise of inclusion and diversity.

The festivities begin early Jan. 16 with the annual Diversity Breakfast at the downtown Everett Holiday Inn, 3105 Pine St. The MLK “Prodigies for Peace” School Essay Award winners will be announced at this event that begins at 7 a.m. Space is limited. To make a reservation, contact Kate Reardon, public information director for the City of Everett, at 425.257.8687 or via
e-mail at kreardon@ci.everett.wa.us.

At 10:30 a.m. there will be a community rally that will conclude with a march through downtown Everett. The rally will begin at Snohomish County Plaza, 3000 Wall St. between Rockefeller and Wetmore. A 17-year tradition, this year’s march will head west on Wall, north on Colby, east on Everett Ave. and south on Broadway, ending at the Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center. Marchers will have priority seating for the Community Celebration.

At noon the Community Celebration and Program will commence with keynote speaker Bond. The program will also feature the Mountlake Terrace High School group Contagious Movement and the Everett Police Honor Guard.

The MLK Community Celebration serves to recognize and honor the life and work of Dr. King and is held each January to honor his memory and leadership while celebrating Snohomish County’s ethnically and culturally diverse community.

The City of Everett, Snohomish County, YMCA of Snohomish County and United Way of Snohomish County are co-sponsors and organizers of this daylong event. Additional sponsors include: Verizon, Providence Everett Medical Center, Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund, Snohomish County Labor Council AFL/CIO, Community Transit, Everett Community College, Holiday Inn-Downtown Everett, NAACP Snohomish County Chapter, Puget Sound Kidney Centers, United Way of Snohomish County, Bank of America, The Boeing Company, Cascade Bank and Frontier Bank.

January 3 , 2008

Related Links