40th City-County MLK Jr. Day Observance at the Overture Center
Overcoming Violence
The King Coalition Co-Chairs: (l-r) Dr. Gloria Hawkins and Ed Lee
By Jonathan Gramling
It seems that violence has permeated our society and culture as a way of solving differences. A day doesn’t go by where there are reports of mass shootings at schools, workplaces and community events, not to speak of wars being fought in many parts of the world.
The King Coalition’s theme, “Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy through Non-Violence,” reminds us that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement effected real social change through non-violence. “Clearly it is a fitting theme for everything that is going on internationally,” said Ed Lee, co-chair of the King Coalition, which plans several events for
the King Holiday.
“There are unnecessary wars happening all across the world. There clearly was an election in 2024 called into question and tested the limits of our democracy. And just reflecting on how Dr. King would have responded to these things in a non-violent way.”
And it seems that the use of violence is not the province of one ideology
or another.
“Recent examples of that come to mind for me are one, being fundamentally opposed to Donald Trump’s policies,” Lee said. “I think it’s unfortunate that someone twice tried to kill him. And there were people celebrating about this healthcare executive being murdered.
People were celebrating that, people who