Irma Jeanisse flashes a peace sign as the 31st annual Martin Luther King Day march proceeds down Country Club Road to the celebratory festival at the Reid Park band shell on Monday, Jan. 18. The march began at the University of Arizona Tech Park at 36th Street and the newly dedicated ML King Jr. Way and made a three and a half mile march.
MLK Committee festival coordinator Donna Liggins, center, looks out at the arriving crowd as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech echoes across the grassy lawn in front of the Reid Park band shell before the day’s festivities on Monday, Jan. 18. Liggins has been the festival coordinator for the MLK Committee for 31 years and also served as the president of the NAACP Tucson Branch from 2014-2015.
Attendees of the Martin Luther King Jr. march and festival stand with hands over their hearts as the national anthem is sung by Levites of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church member Minnette Powell at the Reid Park band shell on Monday, Jan. 18. Powell was preceded by pastor Damond Holt with a prayer and followed by Tianna Williams with a rendition of the black national anthem.
Dan Cassidy holds a sign bearing the now common sentiment, “Black lives matter,” as a host of important figures within the black Tucson community address the crowd after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march at Reid Park on Monday, Jan. 18. Cassidy marched from the newly named ML King Jr. Way and 36th Street with Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson where he is a neighboring faiths teacher. Cassidy identifies as a Muslim, but teaches at the Christian church to “expose kids to different religious traditions and foster tolerance.”
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally addresses the audience at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and festival for the second time that day, reminding attendees that, “it’s up to us to carry on his legacy,” at the Reid Park band shell on Monday, Jan. 18. McSally has both made speeches and participated in the annual march for the past two years.
Pastor Amos L. Lewis of Rising Star Baptist Church passionately quotes “Daily Motivations for African-American Success” to a crowd of hundreds at the Reid Park band shell on Monday, Jan. 18. Lewis has been the pastor of Rising Star Baptist Church since May of 1987 and is also a former president of the Tucson chapter of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.
Linda Owens busts a move as the Levites of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church sing and play contemporary gospel music for attendees of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and festival at the Reid Park band shell on Monday, Jan. 18. Owens came down from Phoenix to march with her sister, Starla Owens, for her second time.
Ventura Tounsel, center, of the Levites of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church points to the sky as he sings a praise to god with the church’s choir and band to attendees of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and festival at the Reid Park bandshell on Monday, Jan. 18. Other performances included praise and African dances, a step team, an R&B singer, a rapper, and live bands and dance groups.
The newly renamed ML King Jr. Way street sign at 36th Street on Monday, Jan. 18. Tucson became the 731st city in the United States to have dedicated a street in the name of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
