Santa Monica College (SMC) and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition are pleased to announce that civil rights lawyer Lisa Holder, President of the Oakland-based Equal Justice Society, will be the keynote speaker at the birthday celebration for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The free celebration will be held on Monday, Jan. 15, at 9 a.m. in the SGI-USA World Peace Ikeda Auditorium, 525 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica. Masks are encouraged.
The event — one of the largest and most diverse celebrations of its kind in Southern California — is presented by The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition, a nonprofit coalition whose mission is consistent with Dr. King’s legacy. Event sponsors include theCity of Santa Monica, Santa Monica College Associates, Santa Monica College, SGI-USA, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council, and a variety of other organizations and individuals.
This year marks the celebration’s 39th anniversary and embraces the theme “Stop the Hate, Start the Healing.” The multi-ethnic, interfaith program will include inspirational readings, speakers, music, and a short theatrical performance.
The program also features the presentation of education awards to local students and a Community Light Award. This year, the program will launch the new Nat Trives Service Award with a presentation honoring former Santa Monica mayor Trives, whose widespread community involvement has led to his renown as “Mr. Santa Monica.”
Immediately following the program there will be a Community Involvement Fair presenting informational displays by a variety of community organizations from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, 1210 4th Street, Santa Monica.
Ms. Holder, currently President of the Oakland-based Equal Justice Society, recently completed her two-year term as an appointee of Gov. Gavin Newsom on the historic Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. She is a nationally recognized, award-winning trial attorney with specialized expertise in equal protection, education equity, employment discrimination, constitutional policing, and international human rights law.
In 2019, she drafted AB 241 and 242, the laws that now require all judges, attorneys, court staff, and health professionals to undertake continuing education on bias-elimination. In 2020, she served on the steering committee for the Proposition 16 campaign to repeal California’s ban on affirmative action. Ms. Holder received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and her JD from New York University School of Law, where she was a distinguished Root-Tilden Scholar.
Details about the birthday celebration and other related special events are available at:
• The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Westside Coalition website
• Facebook
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• Twitter
Additional information may be requested by sending an email or calling 818-207-3934 or 310-434-4100.
Grace Smith, Director of Public Information, Santa Monica College