Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day events scheduled in Victorville

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·2 min read
Iesha Motley dances as the Burning Bush Church Children’s Choir performs for the Martin Luther King Commemorative Peace March in Victorville in Jan. 2020.
Iesha Motley dances as the Burning Bush Church Children’s Choir performs for the Martin Luther King Commemorative Peace March in Victorville in Jan. 2020.
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The 15th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Peace March & Ceremony is scheduled for Monday near Victorville City Hall.

Presented by the High Desert Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the march will begin at 10 a.m. at the corner of Seneca Road and Civic Drive. The march ends at the Civil Rights Memorial near city hall on Civic Drive, where a ceremony will be held.

At the memorial, local leaders will share words of inspiration. Additionally, student Natalia Jackson, the winner of the city’s Annual Civil Rights Memorial Essay Contest, will read her winning entry.

Jackson’s winning essay, about author, poet, and activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, was selected among essays submitted by students from the Victor Elementary School District.

A portion of Jackson’s winning essay will be displayed on a plaque at the memorial.

With the installation of the bronze plaque honoring activist Harper, the memorial will contain eight plaques along with essays from Victorville students.

Sixth-grader Natalia Jackson, center, from Irwin Academy School of Performing Arts, is the winner of the City of Victorville's Annual Civil Rights Memorial Essay Contest. Flanking Jackson, left to right, VESD Superintendent Lori Clark, Victorville Mayor Debra Jones, teacher Mrs. Parm and Principal Gary White.
Sixth-grader Natalia Jackson, center, from Irwin Academy School of Performing Arts, is the winner of the City of Victorville's Annual Civil Rights Memorial Essay Contest. Flanking Jackson, left to right, VESD Superintendent Lori Clark, Victorville Mayor Debra Jones, teacher Mrs. Parm and Principal Gary White.

In December, Victorville Mayor Debra Jones paid a surprise lunch hour visit to sixth graders at Irwin Academy School of Performing Arts. Jones announced that Jackson had won the city’s annual essay contest.

Victor Elementary School District Superintendent Lori Clark said, “We are very proud of Natalia for choosing to honor Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who championed change for women’s rights, especially for African American women.”

A full-length version of Natalia’s winning essay can be viewed on the City of Victorville website at VictorvilleCA.gov/civilrightsmemorial.

City officials said that the Civil Rights Memorial was created to “honor and remember” the sacrifices and triumphs of America’s Civil Rights Leaders.

Plaques recognizing civil rights activists Dr. King, Asa Philip Randolph, Frederick Douglass, Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman, Lucy Burns, Jackie Robinson and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are currently displayed at the memorial.

Concert and Tribute Awards

The nonprofitDreamers, Visionaries and Leaders will present a free live concert at 6 p.m. on Monday at the Victor Valley College Performing Arts Center

The show will honor Dr. King with a performance dubbed “A Love Letter to Marvin Gaye” by singer Dorian Holley.

The return of the DVL Tribute Awards will follow the concert. The tribute awards will recognize DVL honorees Sadie Patterson, Kim Carter, Dr. Alexa Jackson Jarrell, Cindy Bostick, Maria Okra and Tasha Champion.

For more information on the concert, call 760-245-4271, ext. 2395, or 760-242-2487.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day events scheduled in Victorville