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The City of Tempe spearheaded
the first-ever East Valley Regional MLK Unity Walk on January 31, 2004. Tempe
, together with Chandler, Gilbert,
Mesa
, Guadalupe,
Scottsdale, and Queen Creek
honored the ideals of
Martin Luther King, Jr. by joining together in a short walk that begun at
different locations throughout Tempe and culminated at the Tempe Beach Park. The
program included keynote Speaker, Art Hamilton and special guest, Governor Janet
Napolitano.
The event has historically begun with a unity
walk leading to the festival at the Tempe Community Complex. The festival
included community booths, entertainment and an address by a keynote speaker.
Over the past four years staff and the Human Relations Commission have expressed
an interest in partnering with neighboring cities to join resources for a
regional MLK event. Currently each city
coordinates their own MLK celebration with varying degrees of activities.
The City of Tempe had an opportunity to partner
with APS for their Annual Black Heritage Festival. This festival has
historically taken place at the Phoenix Civic Plaza, however, APS will be
relocating to the Tempe Town Lake for their celebration. This would be an
opportunity to honor and celebrate the legacy of
Martin Luther King, Jr. through a regional event that encourages diversity,
unity, and understanding amongst all communities.
After the first year, it was a unanimous decision from the
respective participating cities that they would like to continue their
participation in this event. While our original intent was to regionalize an
MLK festival, the consensus from the other cities was that while they would like
to continue their participation in the Unity Walk, they would not be canceling
their respective community MLK celebrations, much like the City of Tempe which
will continue to have it’s community Human Relations Commission Diversity
Awards.
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