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Hundreds of people of all colors, races and ethnicities turned out to the Chico Community Park on Monday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and support diversity.
The community celebrated the unveiling of a statue of King that has 12 of his quotes inscribed on it. The event also recognized the Jan. 15 renaming of Whitman Avenue to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.
Chico State students and faculty teamed with citizens by speaking and performing at the ceremony.
The statue and the naming of the street were long overdue, said Ajamu Lamumba, outreach coordinator for the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement Engineering Program.
Lamumba gave a shorter version of King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the ceremony.
Everything that King said was important, Lamumba said.
"Most people are familiar with the last 30 percent of the speech, but in the first 70 percent, he is making demands," he said.
A lot of those demands have been fulfilled, and the changes are largely because of King, Lamumba said.
"We can now all use the same facilities," he said. "We have greater access to programs and services that will help us all."
Chico State senior Malcolm McLemore and other members of Men of Honor raised $4,000 to help fund the statue. The monument shows that citizens support diversity and believe in peace, he said.
McLemore thinks every student can take a lot from King and his achievements, he said.
"If you want something, it can be accomplished as long as you believe in it," McLemore said.
Joe Person Sr., 77, has seen major changes since he first came to Chico, and he is now chairman of the Chico Community Coalition.
Only eight black students attended Chico State when he did in 1962, and half of them were from Oroville, Person said. There are now hundreds of minority students largely because of King and other civil rights leaders.
Chico Community Coalition members are excited about the education students will get from seeing the monument.
"We want this to be a symbol for young people," Person said. "We want students and young people to learn and treasure the monument."
Though King changed a lot of things, there is still work to be done, said Anthony Davis, a multicultural and gender studies professor.
"There has been progress but the dream hasn't been fulfilled," Davis said. "It's up for this generation to fulfill the dream. We are the caretakers of his dream."
Sergio Delgado can be reached at sdelgado@theorion.com
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