Communities of color say they are still battling Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight 6 decades later

Washington Union High School senior Emiliano Aranda, an 18-year-old who hopes to go into medicine, mentioned the similarities between the Black and Latino communities in an award-winning essay he penned for the 40th celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Both communities are often treated in a very similar manner, like we’re often shut out,” said Aranda after delivering his speech at the Fresno Veterans Memorial Auditorium on Monday.

“We’re also being told you should be better, you should be doing this, kind of blaming our heritage,” he continued. “At the same time, we have so much potential, we have so much drive.”

Aranda was among a handful of Latinos who joined in celebrating the 95th birthday of the civil rights icon. Monday’s commemoration program, which capped a community march from St. John’s Cathedral to the auditorium, was the last among six events organized by the MLK Unity Committee.

That unity, however, was not shared by those who showed up for Monday’s march and program. About two dozen protestors of Israel’s war in Gaza, waving Palestinian flags, holding up cardboard signs with phrases like “Stop the Homicide,” and trying to engage in conversations with marchers once they finished their walk at the front steps of the auditorium.

Aranda, in his speech, credited King Jr. for challenging “people’s racism and bias.”

In pushing “for equality and solidarity among all Americans, he transformed the negative perceptions of minorities being uneducated, undesirable, volatile and guilty of everything … guilty for existing,” said Aranda.

“Still, 40 years later, this negative perception exists in our society. But, thankfully, the MLK Spirit of Resistance also lives on, provided this resistance comes from people of color who are winning more than ever.”

Strong support for MLK by Latinos

In Fresno – where Latinos account for 50.5% and Blacks 6.6% of its half-million residents – MLK supporters reflect the city’s diversity. Fresno State professor emeritus Sudarshan Kapoor is a founding member of the MLK Unity Committee. The late Ben Benavídez was an early supporter of the march.

And the MLK celebrations saw various elected officials, from Congressman Jim Costa to Fresno County Board of Education Trustee James Martínez.

Longtime community advocate Venancio Gaona said the friendship and mutual respect between King and farmworker icon César E. Chávez starting in the 1960s set the table for today’s bonds among the country’s two largest ethnic groups.

“For us Latinos nationally, it was an inspiration because at this time Corky González was in New México, Reies López Tijerina in Texas and, of course, Chávez in California,” said Gaona, a retired Fresno City College professor.

Gaona said the national celebration for Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, should be duplicated for Chávez, who died in 1993.

Boulevards named after the two men will intersect in southwest Fresno once Chávez Boulevard signs are installed on portions of city streets on California, Ventura and Kings Canyon roadways.

What was heard during MLK celebrations:

Fresno City Council President Annalisa Perea, Friday at Courthouse Park during garlanding ceremony: “Dr. King’s message transcends time. It is not confined to the pages of history, but continues to guide us as we navigate the present and envision a future built on unity. Our community, like many others across the nation, has not yet fully realized Dr. King’s vision of complete equality and justice for all.”

Congressman Jim Costa, Monday during Unity March in front of City Hall: “Today we are at a critical moment in American and world history. Many of the issues that were critical in the 1960s, during the era of the Civil Rights movement, are as critical today. There has been an attempt, both with the Supreme Court and in other actions that have taken place, to dismantle the fundamental Voting Rights Act. That’s backsliding. And we cannot allow that to continue.”

Fresno County Superintendent Michelle Cantwell-Copher, Friday at Courthouse Park: “Everyone can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, Monday during Unity March: “Dr. King envisioned a diverse community coming together. He imagined our legislative and judicial halls with men and women who wanted to deliver our country from a feeling of bitterness to a place of progress. And so we must each do our part to fulfill that vision.”

Terri Kimber Edwards, Monday during Unity March: “We are honoring those that blazed the trail before us, we should never forget our history. Ever! We need to always remember who we are, what we stand for, even if we’re doing it alone. Even if you’re doing it by yourself because somebody else is with you when you’re right.”

CHP Captain Austin Matulonis, Monday during Unity March: “The sight of diverse faces, walking side by side, carrying banners, singing songs of message and love and understanding was a testament to the strength of our community here in Fresno. It is a powerful reminder that the spirit of Dr. King lives in the hearts and actions of those who strive to be better in a more equitable world.”

Fresno County School Board Trustee James Martínez, Monday during MLK Commemoration at Veterans Memorial Auditorium: “Dr. King’s dream is not a distant aspiration. It is a call to action for each of us to play our part in building a society and a world where justice and equality must prevail.”