SDSU will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King. Jr. on Jan. 20 with its third annual rally and “marade” put on by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Accessibility.
A “marade” is a mix between a march and a parade, the student success adviser for the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Accessibility, Jay Molock, explained.
“The march recognizes the protests from the civil rights movement, the other half of that is the parade, which is a celebration,” Molock said. “We call it a marade so that one, we are marching in positive civil disobedience, and two, we are parading a celebration.”
The event will look slightly different this year, with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Accessibility partnering with SDSU athletics for the first time.
While event organizers hope for decent weather, the partnership with athletics means the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex (SJAC) indoor track will be available this year if need be.
“We appreciate the athletics partnership and their willingness to reserve that space for us if we are unable to go outside,” Shelly Bayer, Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Accessibility said. “We’ll make the most of it either way.”
In the past, there have been issues with cold and icy weather that have made walking the full 1.1 mile march around campus difficult. In 2023, icy sidewalks forced attendees to restrict their marade route to around the union, rather than around campus.
The last marade was slated for Jan. 15, 2024, but had to be postponed until President’s day in February due to freezing temperatures that cancelled classes.
“We were able to walk the whole mile route, and it was sunny, and we were thankful, but I think we were impacted by the fact that it was postponed,” Bayer said. “Not as many people are thinking about honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. on Presidents Day.”
Another change this year is that the speaker portion of the rally and marade will be held in Club 71 in Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Previously, this has been held in the student Union.
According to Bayer, a variety of speakers including President Barry Dunn, SDSU student leaders and more will give short speeches commemorating King’s life, work and legacy. This year’s keynote speaker is Jahmal Cole.
Cole is the CEO and founder of My Block, My Hood, My City, a nonprofit organization based in his hometown of Chicago. The mission statement taken from the nonprofit’s website is “to inspire youth, empower communities, and build a better world one block at a time.”
Cole attended Wayne State College in Wayne, NE at the same time SDSU men’s basketball coach Eric Henderson coached women’s basketball at the college.
“When his [Henderson’s] recommendation came for Jahmal Cole, who does tons for the city of Chicago in terms of helping out the youth and community, we couldn’t have made a better choice,” Molock said.
SDSU senior Oscar Garcia is also speaking this year. Garcia is the president of Latin American Student Association (LASA) and has attended every year of the rally and marade.
Garcia has seen the event grow and thinks participation will increase again this year. He plans to talk about different aspects of the civil rights movement and King’s work.
“MLK didn’t just fight for race equality, but also labor work equality and economic equality as well,” Garcia said.
The third annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Rally and Marade will be held on MLK Day, Monday, Jan. 20 2025 starting at Club 71 at 10:00 a.m. Anyone is welcome to join. Food will be provided at the conclusion of the event around 12:30 p.m.
Jahmal Cole’s website can be found at https://www.formyblock.org/.
