Dream Weavers

OXNARD —  Calling on Ventura County’s youth to remember the lessons of Martin Luther King Jr., community members honored the slain activist Monday with an emotional three-hour ceremony.

The celebration began with a march through city streets. Striding through downtown, marchers sang chorus after chorus of “We Shall Overcome.”

Many carried children on their shoulders or pushed baby strollers. And when the throng of 300 reached Oxnard’s Performing Arts Center for an indoor observance, the focus turned squarely on the young.

“We must face the future with our youth, with faith, hope and determination,” Oxnard City Councilman Bedford Pinkard told the packed hall. “We must continue to tell the story.”

To that end, local leaders handed out numerous youth awards. Meanwhile, a children’s choir stirred the crowd with uplifting gospel hymns.

While activists are proud King’s work remains so influential, they described the youth outreach as necessary to maintain vigilance against prejudice.

“I think it’s important for our future,” said Lowell Pumphrey, a member of the county’s MLK Committee. “We’re instilling the legacy in them. I think there are still plenty of us working that it will remain strong. But we have to continue the job.”

King’s story, many participants said, is one that continues to inspire: a life of nonviolence, tolerance and high achievement in the face of adversity.

“He’s the reason I’m free,” said Moorpark High School senior Selina Albright. She was one of numerous county high school students honored Monday for academic excellence.

“I think about all the opportunities other people didn’t have,” said Albright, who hopes to become a dentist. “Now we can go to schools that will allow us to do that.”

Sharnell Wilson, an administrative assistant at Port Hueneme Navy Base, watched her 7-year-old daughter sing in the children’s choir.

“[King] had a real message, as far as everyone coming together,” she said. “It’s important kids know what he’s all about.”

Combining the youth theme with an allusion to a famous King speech, organizers titled Monday’s local observance “Our Children--The Heart of the Dream.”

Pledging to remain vigilant against racial intolerance, black students from local high schools received academic achievement awards. In another nod to youth, LaTunya Clark, Miss Oxnard U.S.A. for 1998, told of her numerous tries to become the local beauty queen. She said King’s legacy of perseverance guided her efforts.

Keynote speaker Fannie Tatum Hawkins, a Los Angeles-area poet, also alluded to King’s inspiring words to encourage the students to better their lives.

“Continue to excel, for you are the heart of the dream . . .,” she told students. “You have taken advantage of that dream.”

The ceremony, part of the national holiday commemorating King, drew numerous local leaders. Black officials on hand included Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt and Gary Windom, a prominent public defender.

Oxnard resident Cleo Anderson said race relations in America have improved, but King’s message of nonviolence remains urgent.

“There’s so much of that today--the gangs and, unfortunately, there is police brutality,” she said. “It’s timeless, that theme of nonviolence.”