In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a peaceful march is planned Monday, set to begin at the Desert Hot Springs Police Station and end at the First Community Baptist Church.
Organized by the Desert Hot Springs Christian Ministerial Fellowship, the march will conclude with a celebration of the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
King, who would have turned 91 on Wednesday, is known for using nonviolence and civil disobedience in his struggle for civil rights, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was cut down by an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated annually on the third Monday of January.
Special guests at the celebration will include Desert Hot Springs Mayor Pro Tem Jan Pye and Pastor Lloyd N. Ellie.
The event also includes the announcement of the winners of an essay contest that was open to students from across the Coachella Valley.
The march begins at 2 p.m. at the police station, 65950 Pierson Blvd. The cerebration begins afterward at 3:30 p.m., at the church, located at 66272 First Street.