Community leaders and residents joined the San Gabriel Valley chapter of the NAACP and the City of West Covina on Monday, Jan. 16, to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the national holiday that celebrates his legacy at the city’s Civic Center.
The 24th edition of the annual gathering, this year themed “A Day of Service,” featured speeches, prayers and musical performances celebrating the life and achievements of the civil rights pioneer and urging the carrying on of his message with enduring action against racism.
Some speakers encouraged the crowd to celebrate King’s legacy by embracing his fight against economic inequity.
“It is a blessing and to know that we are honoring our Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream,” said local NAACP President Irma Cooper, “and that was of his beloved community to make sure that we all are one, and that we all can live in unity without discrimination, which is definitely congruent with the vision of the NAACP.”
Keynote speaker Oliver North, founder and CEO of Only Thoughts of Ownership, pointed to the night of April 3, the last speech King gave before he was assassinated. King encouraged the Black community to withdraw from White-owned commerce and to channel funds into Black-owned businesses.
“Dr. King wasn’t talking pretty and he was far from just a dreamer,” said North, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and master’s in Business Management from Azusa Pacific University. “Today is a day to carry on the mission. It’s to find where you fit in the mission.”
“Today,” North added, “it’s not just about civil rights, it is about economic and educational injustice.”
According to the Federal Reserve, Black and Hispanic households hold only 2.9% and 2.8% of the nation’s wealth, respectively, while accounting for 15.6% and 10.9% of the US population. The Century Foundation notes only 8% of children in well-funded, high-performing districts are Black, over 20% of children in poorly funded, low-performing districts are Black.
Kristin McGuire — executive director of Young Invincibles, a national organization that tackles issues related to health care, higher education, and economic security for young adults — said wage disparity runs deep in education.
“Black women hold the majority of student debt,” said McGuire, also a governing board member for Charter Oak Unified School District in Covina. “So this holds them back from any economic opportunity or the creation of generational wealth. So when we look at home ownership rates and the ability to purchase property, all of that is held back by our student debt.”
McGuire said she intends to attend when U.S. Supreme Court justices engage in their high-profile arguments over President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan on Feb. 28.
“When you think about it — we have a country that told us that we need to pull ourselves up out of poverty by our bootstraps, go to college, get an education,” McGuire added, “when there are continuously barriers placed in front of us that prevent us from being able to do it the same way other people do it.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, Black or African American students are the most likely to borrow federal loans at 76.1%, as well as owe 6% more than they borrowed while White borrowers owe 10% less.
“There are a lot of actions in creating economic opportunity,” McGwire said, ” because there’s hundreds of years of Black people being left out. So I think it takes real action and real engagement. And I’m just excited for the future.”
