By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
The MLK Celebration Sacramento Committee held its 25th annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 26 at Sacramento State.
Vince Miles, president of the MLK committee, dedicated the ceremony to Dexter Scott King, son of Dr. King, who died at age 62 on Jan. 22.
“As many of you know, Dexter passed away this week so, this is for you Dexter,” Miles said at the beginning of the ceremony.
Miles said the occasion marked a quarter century of fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, an initiative that began during a time when these principles often were overlooked.
“While significant progress has been achieved over the past 25 years, there are instances where we’ve regressed, serving as a poignant reminder that the struggle for equality and civil rights persists. The MLK committee remains steadfast in its belief that programs like ours play a vital role in engaging the community and its leaders, fostering essential conversations and connections,” Miles said.
Sac State President Luke Wood, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May and American River College President Lisa Cardoza participated in a round table and shared their visions for higher education in the Sacramento region. All three are people of color.
President Wood said Sac State is federally recognized as having a high population of Hispanic and Asian American students, but that there’s more to it.
“Most people don’t know that we also have a unique designation,” he said. “We have the highest enrollment out of all the 23 California State Universities for Black and African American students.”
Wood said that when Dr. King spoke in 1967 at Sac State, he emphasized that denying students the education they deserve is a form of violence.
“We find that it’s important to make sure that we’re bringing that kind of experience for all of our students so that they have the environment and support to be successful,” Wood said.
May said this year’s freshman class is the most diverse in UC Davis’ history and that it included a 22% increase in African American students over the fall 2022 cohort.
“Not quite as big as Sac State yet, but the number has risen since I’ve arrived so I’m happy with the direction of that number,” May said.
Cardoza said ARC is not only ethnically diverse, but linguistically as well.
“One of the things that attracted me to American River College is that we have tremendous strategic plans, we have institutional effectiveness plans, we have plans for our disproportionately impacted or underrepresented students,” Cardoza said. “All of these plans integrate and create the path to what it looks like.”
Cardoza said student success remains her top priority.
“Yes, we’re doing good things and we need to be doing even better because all of our students are dependent on us in serving them well,” she said.
The celebration was founded by Dorothy and Jerry Enomoto in 2000. Jerry Enomoto was the first Asian American to be appointed as a United States marshal and Dorothy Enomoto was the first African-American woman to manage a California Department of Corrections facility. She also was a civil rights activist and high school classmate of Dr. King.
Both close associates of Dr. King, the Enomotos envisioned and established the “Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Sacramento” event to foster unity, equality, and justice within the Sacramento community drawing inspiration from the teachings of Dr. King
Robert Matsui, the late congressional representative, served as honorary co-chair at the inception dinner. His widow and successor, Rep. Doris Matsui, took the role after his passing in 2005.
The college and university leaders also emphasized the need to have educators with proven track records of success in educating students from minority backgrounds.
“That’s what I’m looking for,” Cardoza said.
Wood said Sac State is committed to diversity and inclusion because it too often lacks in education. The university is launching an honors college dedicated solely to Black and African American students.
“We are in the process of reassigning staff so that they’ll have their own counselors, academic advisors, tutors, and supplemental instruction,” Wood said. “We cannot be a historically Black college, but we can be everything except historical when it comes to providing for Black and African-American students.”
Six local high school students also were recognized for their entries in an MLK essay contest.
Lamar Holmes, a 15-year-old sophomore at C.K. McClatchy, was awarded second place. Holmes said he entered the contest for the new opportunity and the importance of Dr. King’s life and work.
“At the time I was writing an essay for my English class and also because it was something that meant a lot to me, it being about Martin Luther King Jr.,” Holmes said.
He said at first he was disappointed with second place until he read the winning essay.
“When I found out who got first place and reading his essay I was like, OK, it makes sense,” Holmes said.
OBSERVER President and Publisher Larry Lee was awarded the 2024 Robert T. Matsui Community Service Award. His father William Lee, received the same honor in 2003.
“I’m reminded of the people and the ancestors that are no longer here that played a role in me being here, standing on the shoulders of people that I admire greatly for their work in making this community and this world a better place,” Lee said.