Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in SLO County with these local events

The life of slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored in San Luis Obispo County with two events.

A march and celebration is planned for Saturday in Paso Robles, and the San Luis Obispo County branch of the NAACP is hosting an event Monday, the federal holiday commemorating King’s birthday.

The City of Paso Robles-hosted march is set for 11:30 a.m. Saturday at 21st Street and Riverside Avenue, ending at Flamson Middle School, where the keynote speaker for the event called “Character + Infinite Hope” will be newly named San Luis Obispo County Medical Examiner Dr. Joye Carter, who in 1992 became the first black person to be appointed a chief medical examiner in U.S. history.

The event will also feature a presentation based on “Man of La Mancha,” put on by the Cuesta College Performing Arts Department.

Then, on Monday, Congregation Beth David, 10180 Los Osos Valley Road, will play host to an NAACP event honoring King’s life and work.

The event, in partnership with Bend the Arc, Congregation Beth David, RACE Matters and JCC Federation of San Luis Obispo, will feature “music, films, food, an African American Museum and keynote speaker Dr. Donald Cheek,” a former Cal Poly education professor who now teaches at Fresno State University, according to an NAACP statement.

“Dr. Cheek is a recognized authority on race relations, diversity, social psychology, African American community development and ethnicity,” the statement said.

The event runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and is free to the public.

This story was originally published January 12, 2018 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in SLO County with these local events."