MLK22 Event Update #2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2022

Contact: press@norcalmlkfoundation.org

(415)857-0595

 

** PRESS RELEASE **

 

MLK2022 CELEBRATION UPDATE #2

“TOWARD JUSTICE”

sfmlk.events

#sfmlkday

 

 

The Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation is committed to ensuring the health and safety of attendees at its 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. events. To that end, we have adjusted our 2022 MLK celebration events to support our region’s efforts in fighting the impacts of the latest COVID-19 transmission during the current omicron wave, while at the same time maintaining our commitment to service and community.

 

Our 2022 Martin Luther King, Jr. outdoor events on Monday, January 17th, have been postponed to 2023

·       Our 2022 MLK March|Parade has been postponed to 2023.

·       Our 2022 MLK Music Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens has been postponed to 2023.

·       The 2022 Caltrain NorcalMLK Freedom Train Commemorative Service will return in 2023.

 

Our 2022 Martin Luther King, Jr. indoor events at San Francisco Public Library on Sunday, January 16^th, and at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Monday, January 17th, will be moved to virtual programming.

 

Information regarding modifications to all of the individual events during the 2022 Martin Luther King, Jr. week of programming can be found at sfmlk.events.

 

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The Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation (NorcalMLK) has postponed its MLK2022 Celebration outdoor events on Monday, January 17, in order to support the region’s efforts in fighting the impacts of the latest COVID-19 transmission during the current omicron wave.

 

“We are not seeing any models that indicate our ability to confidently ensure, as much as we can, the health and safety of attendees and celebrants during our outdoor events on Monday. So, we had to take the very difficult decision to postpone our MLK March, commemorative train service, and MLK Music Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens.” stated NorcalMLK executive director Aaron Grizzell. “Although outdoor gatherings are deemed safer than indoor events, the prevalence of this variant and our surging numbers across the region means that we must take an abundance of caution and turn toward virtual commemoration and direct action.”

 

As part of NorcalMLK’s pivot to virtual events is a call to action to support the passage of voting rights legislation in the U.S. Congress. “Just as the three marches of 1965, from Selma to Montgomery helped drive America to a better place, with the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, each one of us can help to protect the voting rights of every American citizen by calling, emailing, and texting our respective U.S. Senators to tell them to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, says Grizzell. “There is no more important safeguard to our democracy than the protection of every American citizen’s right to vote, and the urgency of this protection has taken on new dimensions.”

 

As part of its virtual events, NorcalMLK will also provide an online resource to learn more about voting rights legislation and ways to participate in ensuring protection of every American citizen’s right to vote. Grizzell stated that NorcalMLK wants to empower every person with the tools needed to make an impact.

 

 

See the events below, and continue to link to the MLK22 Schedule of Events for the latest scheduling notes.

 

 

 

KING & FAITH SERIES (https://norcalmlkfoundation.org/kfl/events)

January 13 – 17

 

You can find the events of the King & Faith Series at sfmlk.events.

 

 

BLACK & BROWN COMIX ARTS FESTIVAL  (Virtual)

January 16 – 17

 

These in-person events have been replaced with virtual programming.

 

The 2022 Black & Brown Comix Arts Festival (BCAF22) marks the eighth year of the nationally awarded comic book event highlighting artists and creators of color. BCAF is a partnership of the NorcalMLK Foundation and the San Francisco Public Library.

 

The 2022 BCAF events will be virtual. Check sfmlk.events for virtual program schedule.

 

 

MLK2020 LABOR & COMMUNITY BREAKFAST (postponed to 2023 and replaced with virtual program)

January 17, 8:00am

 

This event is postponed to 2023 and has been replaced with virtual programming.

 

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor & Community Breakfast brings labor, government, and the community together to honor the legacy of the civil rights connection between labor, led by A. Philip Randolph, the African American community, and the poor.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor & Community Breakfast is a partnership between the San Francisco Labor Council and the NorcalMLK Foundation.

 

 

MLK22 MARCH (postponed to 2023)

 

 

MLK22 CELEBRATION PROGRAM (virtual programming)

January 17, 1:30pm

Blue Shield of California Theater @ YBCA

700 Howard Street

 

This event is now a virtual program.

 

The MLK22 Celebration Program features an historic table talk with six African American women, whose careers span over four decades in local and national broadcasting. 

 

Current and retired local media personalities Barbara Rodgers (ret. CBS 5), Carolyn Tyler (ret. ABC7NEWS), Cheryl Hurd (NBC Bay Area), Dana King (former anchor at CBS 5), Kumasi Aaron (ABC7NEWS), Rosie Allen (ret. KGO Radio), and Renel Brooks-Moon (announcer for the San Francisco Giants) discuss today's issues and their time in the media. 

 

It is a rare conversation with these media personalities whose voices have been in Bay Area homes and cars for many decades. 

 

 

MLK22 MUSIC FESTIVAL (postponed to 2023)

 

 

MLK22 LIBERATION FILM SCREENINGS (Virtual)

January 15-17, 12:00pm

 

A The Liberation Film Screenings (LFF) are dedicated to bringing short-format cinema and human-interest documentaries to the public through innovative programs designed to engage new and diverse audiences. 2022 marks the twelfth annual program and will feature human interest and civil rights documentaries and dramatic readings.

 

The World House Project at Stanford University will sponsor a three-day webinar and virtual "Where Do We Go From Here" film festival on January 15-17. Each day, beginning at 10:00 am, World House founding director Clayborne Carson and his colleagues at Stanford will present a three-day program of King-related documentaries and multimedia historical materials interspersed with short invited statements and musical presentations on the webinar theme.

 

 

MLK22 CALTRAIN NORCALMLK CELEBRATION TRAIN (postponed to 2023)

 

 

SUPPORT NORCALMLK

 

Please consider supporting the work of the NorcalMLK Foundation, and help us ensure that our MLK celebration programs remain free to all.

The Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation

The Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation is a public charitable organization dedicated to helping unlock the promise in every person through programs and events that advance civil and human rights; promote social, economic, and environmental justice; support health, wellness, and preparedness; and increase the joys of learning.

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