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<\/a><\/p>\nAdditional chairs had to be set out as community members\u2014including children with tablets coloring pictures of MLK, Jr.\u2014filled the Redwood Room, attentive to the opening remarks of City Librarian Patty Wong<\/a> and City Manager J\u014dvan Grogan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are honored to be here together as we reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ongoing work of healing, justice, and unity,\u201d said Wong before introducing Grogan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe join in this choral reading \u2026 as neighbors, learners, and residents\u2014united in the belief that freedom is strengthened when we come together, listen to one another and continue the work Dr. King began,\u201d said Grogan.<\/p>\n \u201cHis words remind us that democracy is not just an idea\u2014it is a practice we live every day together \u2026 A democracy requires participation, and a complacent citizenry may find themselves no longer in a democracy,\u201d continued Grogan.<\/p>\n Next, one by one, 23 racially diverse Santa Clara community leaders came forward, each reading a passage from King\u2019s speech. Near the end of the speech, everyone in the room rose, joining their voices in chorus to read the closing passages.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so let freedom ring \u2026 From every mountainside, let free ring. And when this happens \u2026 we will be able to speed up that day when all of God\u2019s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: \u2018Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Program Coordinator Derek Bryant, a Santa Clara native, was one of the 23 solo readers.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a very warm feeling when we all read the last part of the speech together,\u201d said Bryant, who is Black. \u201cI felt unified with the residents of Santa Clara.<\/p>\n \u201cI want people to know that American Black history is world history and learning about that history creates solidarity and a better place for our children\u2019s future,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The MLK, Jr., choral reading was a first for Santa Clara Library, and City Manager Grogan gave libraries high praise.<\/p>\n \u201cLibraries are where democracy thrives\u2014where every person who walks through the doors is welcome, and where knowledge, opportunity, and possibility are free and within reach,\u201d said Grogan. \u201cThis is a place where voices are heard, dreams are nurtured, and people of all ages can shape their future using the resources our community shares.\u201d<\/p>\n The MLK, Jr., event was sponsored by the Santa Clara City Library Foundation and Friends<\/a> and a grant from the American Library Association for the Jan. 20 National Day of Racial Healing.<\/p>\n To hear King himself read \u201cI Have a Dream,\u201d call the library 24\/7 through Jan. 25 on its Dial-A-Story line: (408) 615-2909, press 3.<\/p>\n The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change<\/a> posted a video of King delivering his speech<\/a> on YouTube.<\/p>\n SPONSORED<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[6036,71586,71587,88,90,89,197,2921,2922],"class_list":{"0":"post-142713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-bay-area-news","9":"tag-central-park-library","10":"tag-jovan-grogan","11":"tag-san-jose","12":"tag-san-jose-headlines","13":"tag-san-jose-news","14":"tag-santa-clara","15":"tag-santa-clara-weekly","16":"tag-silicon-valley-voice"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}