King 2021 Holiday Observance:
The Urgency of Creating the Beloved Community
A three-day celebration in honor of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration
Saturday, January 16,2021
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
New JEDI Advocates: How to Create Intergenerational Advocacy for Justice Panel Discussion
Join us as we discuss developing intergenerational coalitions of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) leaders to strengthen our communities. Moderated by Former Executive Director, Dr. Patrick Graham and Current Executive Director, Mack Graham
Watch on Long Beach MLK Center Facebook Page Live: https://m.facebook.com/lbmlkcenterinc/
Sunday, January 17, 2021
11:00AM
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration Worship Service
Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church - CLMBC with Bishop Isaac R.Melton
Watch on Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church Facebook Page Live: https://www.facebook.com/CLMBC1950
Monday, January 18, 2021
12:30 PM to 1:00 PM
2021 Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Commemorative March
Beginning at West Park Avenue and Laurelton Blvd. All participants will be required to wear face masks/coverings, and to observe social distancing protocols. Staff and volunteers will distribute PPE, including face masks and hand sanitizer to all in attendance.
2021 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Virtual Celebration
3:30 PM
Keynote Speakers:
Ty Hankerson,Excelling Church
Dr. Patrick Graham, Author and Former Executive Director of the Long Beach MLK Center, Inc.
Watch on Long Beach MLK Center Facebook Page Live: https://m.facebook.com/lbmlkcenterinc/
The Long Beach Martin Luther King Center announced today the appointment of Mack Graham as its new Executive Director.
As executive director, Graham will work closely with staff and the Center's Board of Directors to ensure the organization can continue to adapt to serve the community through the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and beyond.
"Mack's background in nonprofit leadership and obvious passion for education, social justice and community service made him a premier choice," said chairman James Hodge in announcing the appointment. "He's an exceptional person who will bring great energy and vision to the MLK Center. I'm excited to welcome him."
Graham, succeeds interim Executive Director Evita Hernaez, who has served in the role since February 2020.
Graham is an accomplished leader who has worked at the intersection of community development, fundraising, and social justice. He comes to the Martin Luther King Center from iMentor, where he oversaw institutional funding for the New York City region. Graham currently serves as Fundraising Chair on the Board of Directors at the Lower East Side Family Union, and is an active member of Gathering for Justice's Justice League NYC - a state-based task force that utilizes Kingian nonviolence as a social application for systemic change and civic engagement. Graham holds degrees from Fordham University (MS in Nonprofit Leadership) and Stony Brook University (BS in Psychology), where he also played football.
"As a community organizer, I am inspired by the Long Beach MLK Center's legacy of Dr. King and its palpable commitment to empowering the Black and Brown community in Long Beach. I am thrilled to be part of this organization and look forward to continuing the work to rejuvenate our community from within"
The Long Beach Martin Luther King Center is more than an organization or building standing within the North Park area of the city. The Martin Luther King Center building at the corner of Riverside Boulevard and Pine Street is a symbol of black community pride, interracial partnerships, and hope for a neighborhood often excluded from social and economic mobility.
The Center's history began as a concept in the fall of 1967 at a meeting facilitated by the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People with the Central District Civic Association, CAN-DO Center, City of Long Beach, and the community at large. These agencies developed the Long Beach Youth Council. Like other African American communities during this period, activists wanted to move beyond token representation in majority institutions and create organizations that represented their interests and combated white paternalism. Interestingly, all of the black leadership were southerners who arrived in the New York area as participants in the Great Migration from the South. Their experiences guided a new movement for equity and equality in Long Beach.
Statement from the City of Long Beach.
The Long Beach Martin Luther King Center, Inc. intends to create a community both inside and outside of the community center and the North Park Area of the City by engaging participants, parents, staff, directors and community partners in service projects as part of the MLK Human/Social Services and Education Programs. The staff and managers of the Long Beach MLK Center upholds the agency’s mission by fostering an authentic culture of service.