By Walter Ryce

The city of Seaside has long celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday with a big community march across town, ending in a program of speakers and performers, and organizations tabling at the Oldemeyer Center. 

Last year, CSUMB President Vanya Quiñones marched alongside elected officials and community members in the rain and spoke at the indoor program. She's attending again on Monday, when the campus will be closed. 

On Jan. 15, as in past years, the public is invited to assemble at 11 a.m. at the corner of Obama Way and Noche Buena in Seaside. The jubilant march starts at noon, and slowly makes its way to Oldemeyer Center where the program is planned from 1 - 3 p.m. Afterwards, people can mingle and enjoy boxed meals and cake. 

The event is presented by the Monterey County Black Caucus, the Divine 9 sororities, and the NAACP. The theme of the day is “Shifting the cultural climate through the study and practice of Kingian nonviolence.” 

Da’ja Robinson, administrative support coordinator for CSUMB’s Helen Rucker Center for Black Excellence and a founding member of the Monterey County Black Caucus, is helping with planning, marketing and the program portion of the event. 

“I would love to see an even greater turnout of CSUMB [community members] participating in the march,” Robinson said. “This day will provide an opportunity for the campus and community to come together for such a great cause.”

She honors the work of Alice Jordan, longtime Seaside community activist and march organizer who passed away in 2022, in part by carrying on the tradition of the march. 

"Alice Jordan was the fearless leader behind the success of the previous years of the MLK march," Robinson said. “The wisdom of our elders can only be continued and championed through the strength of our youth." 

The day after the march, King’s spirit and ethic is manifested in another community event tied to CSUMB.  

The National Day of Racial Healing takes place at CSUMB and is billed as a “transformational journey towards Black and Brown solidarity on the Monterey Peninsula." It will include a panel discussion, cultural food, music and local organizations tabling.  

Guest speakers are Rosa Gonzalez and Glodean Champion. 

Champion said she would like the event to “connect the dots between Black and Brown solidarity. What's working, what's not working, and how we bridge the gap.”

Gonzalez added, “I hope we walk away from this event rooted in our human values, more connected to one another, and more confident to build a Monterey County where everyone who lives here experiences genuine belonging.”

Panelists will include Cathy Gutierrez, Behavioral Health’s former Deputy Director; Chris Barrera, LULAC Council President; Lyndon Tarver, NAACP President; and Chris Lopez, District 3 Supervisor. 

It will be moderated by Vanessa Lopez-Littleton, CSUMB’s Interim Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services. 

With her background in community service and racial healing, Lopez-Littleton was also one of several campus members who developed the proposal for the event.

“As a campus community, we are uniquely poised as a convener of intellectual thought,” Lopez-Littleton said. “I want to invite local thought leaders to the conversation to understand their challenges, concerns and solutions.” 

In keeping with MLK Day’s call for service, the National Day of Racial Healing takes place 12 - 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, at CSUMB’s Otter Student Union.