SAN DIEGO — San Diegans came together to celebrate the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
From noon until 6:30 p.m. on Monday, many attended the WorldBeat Center's family-friendly event honoring Dr. King. The free event was at Balboa Park:
Mary Lennox shared her poem with News 8. She met Dr. King when he spoke in Chicago.
We Are One
In the beginning
Life began in oneness
There were no continents
Nations, cultures, languages
No governments,
No boundaries nor borders
Over time
Some have devised ways to separate and divide
By race, gender, nations, customs, religions, class,
Social roles, beliefs, and other categories
Forgetting that forests burning in the Amazon
Affect the quality of air in Chicago and elsewhere
It’s time to remember
We are one
Like those trees along the highway
In oneness with the light
Like bees finding nectar of flowers
While fostering new generations in every bite
Each depending on the other in a symbiotic relationship
Of oneness
Can ocean waves be separated from the sea
Or blue sky from itself even on a cloudy day?
I think not
We are one
Like the white and black keys of a piano
Each functioning as one in the creation of music
Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Florence Price
Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Teresa Teng, Makeba
Yo Yo Ma…
Share their unique sounds
In the oneness of music
Picasso saw the light of oneness in
As he painted African masks
Georgia O'keeffe and Ansel Adams saw the beauty
Of landscapes in oneness with nature
So, too, Monet and Debussy
Yes
Yes
Yes
We are one
That oneness is reflected in thought, word, and deed
That oneness lights my world and yours
We are one in Spirit
We are one global family of shared humanity
We are one as caretakers of the earth
We are one
Awakened by the omnipresent connection of
Love for each other
No matter what
Can’t you see?
WE ARE ONE!
People young and old gathered at the Balboa Parks Activity Center to have breakfast and listen to speakers on Monday morning for the All Peoples Celebration:
"For over 30 years, San Diegans have come together to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King," said Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego.
This year's theme was "Be heard. Be Counted. Belong."
"It starts right here," said Michael Brunker, the Vice President of Mission Advancement at the YMCA. "It starts with people with like minds and thoughts and hearts."
Some speakers included leaders of Alliance San Diego. Valerie Kaur, founder of the Revolutionary Love Project and civil rights activist, was the keynote speaker for Monday's sold out event.