The annual march and parade held in San Francisco in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The website of the San Francisco-based Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation of Northern California has an alert postponing until 2023 the parade and music festival in a downtown park that had been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 18.
However, the city, along with the Dr. King's Birthday Celebration Event Committee, the Hayward-South Alameda County NAACP, Hayward Unified School District and Chabot College, will rebroadcast the 2021 virtual celebration event on KHRT cable channel 15 and the city's YouTube channel.
The telecast begins at 4:30 pm on January 17.
The decision cancels both events
In addition, the indoor events scheduled for Sunday and Monday will be streamed virtually. Details are available at www.norcalmlkfoundation.org/mlkcelebration/mlk22/.
According to the organization's website, the cancellation is "to support our region's efforts to combat the impacts of the latest COVID-19 transmission during the current omicron wave, while maintaining our commitment to service and community."
The cancellation in San Francisco follows the announcement a week ago across the bay in Hayward to postpone another parade honoring King.
Members of the event committee are working with sponsoring organizations and community leaders to schedule an alternative date and location in 2022 to celebrate and recognize the legacy of the human rights fighter in person.
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