Joan Baez Mesmerizes Audiences on Martin Luther King Day Celebrations

Martin Luther King Day, which has fallen on the 18th of January this year, received a powerhouse opening this year with the performance of folk vocalist Joan Baez, at Palo Alto, on Sunday. Organized by the First United Methodist Church in cooperation with five other community groups, at the church premises in Hamilton Avenue, Joan Baez sang on Sunday, in memory of the champion of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., beginning the celebrations of Martin Luther King Day on Monday.

Accompanied by the choir group of the Eastside College Preparatory School, Baez chose to interject her performance with anecdotes related to the great man who she had first heard speaking back in 1956. Smitten by his commitment towards human rights and the reign of social justice, Baez had even gone on to march in a protest rally in the 60's. The singer relived the moment when she had to wake up a fatigued and sleeping King, during his stay at Mississippi, urged ardently by his aides who were unsuccessful in rousing King. She admitted that she didn't succeed in her initial attempts, but then heard King mutter about wanting to hear the voice of angels and therefore went on to croon Swing Low, Sweet Chariot which egged King to open his slumbery eyes.

Greatly influenced by the invigorating Martin Luther King quotes, ever since she first heard him, Baez is known to have worked actively for the emancipation of the black community and other social causes. She has previously even commented that her fondness for US President Barack Obama stems from the fact that he reminds her of her old friend, Rev. Martin Luther King. She recounted several of her experiences with King throughout the performance and ended on the note that, "It's still almost impossible to be black in this country. White folks and brown folks will never know. Maybe it's true or not. I'll ask you later."

An event which has been annually arranged, for the last 16 years, by the church, the 'Martin Luther King Jr. Community and Interfaith celebrations' also saw the involvement of the Community Interfaith Choir along with a speech delivered by Alex Freeman, a representative of the Palo Alto High School. Followed by a reception held at the Fellowship hall within the same premises, LaDoris H. Cordell, the Master of Ceremonies and an ex-judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, delivered the closing speech by urging every individual to be responsible enough to take up a single issue everyday, which needs attention.

The ceremony reverberated the values and aspirations demonstrated in the "I have a dream" Martin Luther King speech, in keeping with its theme this year, which happened to be "Reflections on the Dream". Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday in the US, celebrated annually on the third Monday of January, in all the 50 states, by African Americans, with white Americans join in actively nowadays. Massive Martin Luther King Day parades, services and other philanthropic activities are scheduled throughout the US, especially in Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore and Washington DC to commemorate the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., a great man in all senses.