MLK Day March And Celebration

Organizers of Ventura County’s 27th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day events chose the theme: “Our World, His Dream: Freedom–It’s Happening in Ventura County!”A high school marching band led about 400 people in a march from Plaza Park to the Oxnard Performing Art Center at 8 a.m.Participants say King made a difference in their lives.One of the participants recalled seeing King Jr. during a violent march in Los Angeles in the 1960s.State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson welcomed the crowd indoors.Dr. Gregory K. Freeland, a civil rights scholar and teacher, gave the keynote address.It was not lost on the crowd that President Obama had just taken the oath of office.Obama had his hand on King’s bible.August 28th will mark the 50th anniversary of the day Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech during a march for jobs and freedom that ended on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.King said he wanted his four children to live in a nation that judged people by character not skin color.Oxnard’s youngest city council member, 25-year-old Dorina Padilla, says King inspired her to embrace the diversity of her Oxnard hometown.Share your comments about this story with us on the KEY News Facebook page. Connect with KEY News on Twitter