This year the March is moved to the UA campus and will begin at the MLK Student Center at 1322 E. 1st St. (2nd Street and Mountain) and march to Old Main (east side). Then there will be a celebration from 10 to 3:30 p.m. at the UA Mall.

For more information contact Donna Liggins at 520-237-7806, Dierdra Jones at 520-370-6528, or Clarence Boykins at Clarence540@aol.com.

And please join in this march & celebration to remember a great civil rights leader.

Monday, January 21st at 8:00 a.m.

Free Admission!

TV on the big screen is made possible by Cox Communications.

Tasty and refreshing “Obama-mosas” will be available for sale at the snack bar! Raise a glass as President Obama officially takes office!

This year, celebrate MLK Day by joining together with others in the Tucson community to watch the live simulcast of President Barack Obama’s inauguration, projected on The Loft’s big screen! The official theme for the 2013 inauguration is “Faith in America’s Future,” commemorating the United States’ perseverance and unity, marking the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation! What could be a better reason to get up this early in the morning?

Commemorate this momentous moment AND celebrate the lasting legacy of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with your fellow Tucsonans as we gather together to usher in the beginning of a new chapter in American history!

January 21, 2013 also happens to be the Martin Luther King Day holiday, so a celebration will be happening over at Old Main on the UA Mall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. This is a fitting coincidence of America’s first Half African American President’s 2nd inauguration on Martin Luther King Day. From Blog for AZ calendar:

March and Festival, University of Arizona Mall. March will begin at 9:00 a.m. in front of the MLK Center on the corner of 2nd Street and Mountain Avenue. The March will end in front of Old Main (East side). Speeches and entertainment begin at 10:00 a.m. For more information please contact Donna Liggins at (520) 237-7806 or Diedra Jones at (520) 370-6528.

Also at the Loft, a free movie “La Source” at 5 p.m. for MLK Day:

Narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), the new documentary La Source tells the uplifting story of Josue Lajuenesse, who grew up in the rural town of La Source, Haiti, where the residents live without plumbing or electricity and must embark on a treacherous hike up a mountain every day in order to obtain clean water. Now working as a janitor at Princeton University by day and a cab driver by night, Lajeunesse is convinced that there must be a better way for his hometown friends and family to live. Together with his carpenter brother Chrismedonne, who still lives in Haiti, Lajeunesse decides to return to his country after the devastating 2010 earthquake and organize an effort to finally bring what is most fundamental to his village’s survival; clean water. This award-winning documentary from director Patrick Shen (Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality, The Philosopher Kings) is not just a movie about clean water and community transformation; it is a story of one unlikely hero, empowered by a vision, who did whatever it took to ignite the passion of people thousands of miles away to change the lives of those in La Source forever.
In 2011, Josue Lajuenesse was awarded Princeton University’s MLK Day Journey Award, which recognizes efforts to continue the journey to achieve Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of social change. (Dir. by Patrick Shen, 2012, 71 mins., Transcendental Media) Digital

Good luck Mr. President for another 4 years.

Aidswalk Tucson is in its 24th year (started in 1988) and is now moving to the Jacome Plaza downtown in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, on Sunday October 14. Event starts at 8 a.m. The Main library is at 101 N. Stone, just south of Alameda.

AIDSWALK TUCSON 2012 EVENT SCHEDULE

Event Program Begins:..8:15 a.m.

Warm Up/ Music:………..8:30 a.m.

Walk Start Time:………..9:00 a.m.

Ending Ceremony:……..10:00 a.m.

Quilt Opening:…………..10:15 a.m.

2012 Honorary Chair is new Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild.

After 6 years at the University of Arizona mall, and previously at Rillito Downs, Aidswalk Tucson has found a new location in downtown. The Tucson Meet Yourself festival runs from October 12 to 14 at the Jacome Plaza, and elsewhere in downtown such as El Presidio Park and La Placita Village. Participate in Aidswalk on October 14, then stay for the rest of the multi-cultural festival. More info: www.aidswalktucson.org, to sign up online. Aidswalk is sponsored by the Southern Arizona Aids Foundation (SAAF).

You can even make a $10 donation on your cell phone by texting “SAAF” to 20222.

Help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and attend/enjoy Tucson Meet Yourself as well.

Walk straight ahead to downtown for Aidswalk 2012

www.aidswalktucson.org

Sun., October 16, 2011
University of Arizona mall
5K Walk – 10K Fun Run

7am Registration Opens

7:30 10K Fun Run Begins

8:00 Quilt Opening Ceremony

8:30 Opening Ceremonies

9:00 5K Walk Begins

10:00 Live Entertainment

For information about AIDSWALK Tucson contact the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF), Monday through Friday, 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.

SAAF Phone: 520-628-7223
SAAF Fax: 520-628-7222
Toll Free Phone: 800-771-9054

TTY: 800-367-8939

Email: aidswalk@saaf.org
Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation
375 S. Euclid Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719

I’ve been walking/biking for years in memory of a dear friend, F. Leo Brown of Connecticut/New York who died of AIDS back in 1991 (at age 49). R.I.P. Leo and the “25 million people (worldwide) who have died of AIDS since the early 1980′s”. And please continue the fight to prevent the spread of AIDS.

And if you can’t walk Aidswalk, you can make a $10 donation by textng on your cell phone “SAAF” to 20222.

Saturday, May 21 · 9:00am – 12:00pm

University of Arizona Mall
Created By Greater Tucson Leadership

The Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) organization invites Tucsonans to grab a picnic blanket, pack their favorite breakfast and come to the University of Arizona Mall on Saturday, May 21 from 9 am – Noon for Tucson’s largest community picnic, Together Tucson.

The event, hosted by GTL, has been created to tap into the community spirit and kindness that followed the January 8 shooting tragedy when strangers assembled together at the UMC memorial. Attendees can renew feelings of togetherness, and their intentions to make Tucson a better place by eating and conversing together, listening to speakers and enjoying music and entertainment.

There will be a variety of activities for children and adults, including a volunteer festival to promote community service opportunities for families and individuals. Attendees can make their own mark on Tucson with the creation of a tile to be included in a public art mosaic installation as part of a future Tucson road improvement project. The mosaic theme is “Commit to Kindness” and is a project from the Ben’s Bells organization.

The event will feature speaker, Ron Barber, Congresswoman Giffords’ staff member who was injured in the shooting. Mr. Barber will provide an update on the status of the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding, the fund he established, as well as the other memorial funds that have been created.

Dr. Peter Rhee, the UMC trauma surgeon that treated Congresswoman Giffords, will also speak about the needs and benefits of community volunteerism and leadership.

In addition to fostering community, the event will also entertain with fun for people of all ages. There will be music from Jovert, the Tucson High Steel Drum band, raffle prizes and activities for children. Attendees should plan to bring their own picnic meal and a blanket or chairs for seating.

RSVP via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=185002324879147

Greater Tucson Leadership
E Broadway Blvd, Suite 1600
Tucson, AZ 85711

Phone: (520) 512-5485
Fax: (520) 884-7071

Martin Luther King, Jr. from wikipedia

January 15 was slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. This year the MLK holiday is celebrated on January 17, but I think this year our minds are mostly remembering the recent mass murders here in Tucson exactly a week ago on January 8, 2011 of six innocent persons, along with the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords of CD 8 and 12 other civilian bystanders.

King preached non-violence and marched for civil rights and peace. Yet he was struck down at age 39 by an assassin’s rifle bullet in Memphis, Tennessee.

Our nation was shocked even more when two months later former New York U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy was also assassinated by a man with a hand gun, while Kennedy was campaigning for U.S. President. He was 42 years old.

I would like to think that King’s message of non-violence and peace resonated with generations of people after these two horrible assassinations, both in 1968. I had hoped that his death had not been in vain. Now I’m not so sure based on the recent mass attack by an 22 year old armed man in Tucson of an innocent crowd of constituents waiting to talk to their U.S. Congresswoman. 6 brave Americans gave up their lives that Saturday morning.

As U.S. President Barack Obama said at the memorial service at the University of Arizona’s McKale Center on January 12, 2011:

They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders – representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” – just an updated version of government of and by and for the people.

Such senseless tragedies, for people just “practicing democracy.”

Let us continue to work towards mutual cooperation, tolerance, acceptance, and civil discourse. On Friday local politicians in Tucson pledged at a press conference to “commit to promote a civil discussion of the issues we face.” Let’s hope they fulfill their pledge.

Please join in the MLK March starting at the U of A Mall (8:30 a.m.) and Festival Celebration at Reid Park (10:30 a.m.) on Monday January 17. Let us together pray, march, and celebrate in Dr. King’s name for all that he stood for.

Violence has no place in our society.

1/17/11 Update: speaking today at the MLK opening ceremony at U of A mall:
Clarence Boykins (organizer of this event for 26 years from Tucson-Southern AZ Black Chamber of Commerce), Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD 7), Mayor Bob Walkup, Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, former City Councilman Chuck Ford, Councilman Richard Fimbres, Eva Dong Carrillo from Sunnyside School Board. Also attending: City Councilman Paul Cunningham and City Manager Mike Letcher, and thousands of Tucsonans.