Upcoming events
Testimony in memory of Kiah Duggins
Speaking today as Secretary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Coalition.
In 2013, led by members of our African American community mostly
women, Harrisonburg renamed a street for Dr. King.
The year after, the same leadership brought forth substantive demands:
stop punishing our nephews who have served their time. Our
incarceration and victimization rates plummeted and for a time our
city was a beacon for building better communities with lasting national
impact.
In 2020, the question of expungement made its way toward the General
Assembly, and I was among the people who noted research affirming the
knowledge of those aunts and mothers that after a number of years,
even under adverse circumstances, the chance of arrest among people
who had served their time dwindled to background levels.
SB826 is a modest effort toward preventing the harms of lasting stigma
that particularly contributes to a downward spiral for entire
communities attached to people who face heightened surveillance and
enforcement that brings down the whole country even as it widens
existing disparities.
This testimony was prepared for presentation during Senator Hashmi's Senate committee on Education and Health
session in which Senator Lucas informed us of the death of many,
including civil rights attorney Kiah Duggins.
Her uncle who was detained pre-trial was killed on the same day that she was there to take her LSAT.
People's Day 2025
People's Day 2025, was a great success! Please see
Vote to Love Your Neighbor signs from
Ridgeview Mennonite Church,
Harrisonburg Rockingham NAACP and get involved by
joining the No Mow May movement.
2025 Past Events
Pollinators in your yard.
Many helped out at Harrisonburg's Pollinators in Your Yard event Saturday, March 29th 12:30 to 4:00 at the Ice House.
Our table had books and activities to promote
"understanding how we share our lawns with many small creatures".
This activity will help rally support for [a bill we hope to see introduced next session in the General Assembly to repeal enabling legislation for tall grass and weed ordinances, by far the biggest barrier to nature-friendly yards.
Building up to this appreciation you can see a series of articles by Marlene Condon, who was at our table for the previous pollinator event:
"The monarch butterfly's reign may be coming to an end."
"The great manipulation, or how a well known scientist deceived the public"
"The value in 'invasive' plants"
"Marlene Condon: An 'invasive' species reality check Development and overhunting are responsible for the vast majority of the decline in wildlife populations. So why are so-called invasive plant species targeted so often?"
Ms. Condon's book, The Nature Friendly Garden on how to actually make your yard friendly to nature is based right here in this bioregion, and contributes to the key of addressing human impact not by targeting how many of us live in the world, but by targeting how we live together in the world.
People's Day 10th Anniversary, 2024
The year-long tenth anniversary celebration of People's Day has concluded and
has been archived. Our 10 years of organizing has had
national impact. It has been a resounding success, bringing the community together and rekindling that original spark of greatness. In the words of Pastor Costella Forney:
"We're working on some things, over here in the Northeast Community, ... we still have dreams, we still have goals, we still have things that we can accomplish here, and just because we had a little slump doesn't mean that there's still not a little flicker, and we can fan that flicker and it will turn into a flame again. We need to getr ed hot, back here in this community, like we used to be."
Contact: secretary at MLKJrWay.org
2024 Past Events
Senate of Virginia January 27, 2025 - Local Government - SR B (306) - 8:30 am
People's Day Tenth Annivarsary: archive
People's Day Tenth Anniversary Events:
People's Day 2023: archive
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Coalition believes in inclusive
community in which every person is loved and valued, regardless of any
differences, and is empowered to participate, have a voice and effect
positive change in her or his community. We will work tirelessly to create
a sustainable democracy that is led and owned by the people, one
in which the people have timely access to the information and
expertise needed for governance. We will advocate for this vision and challenge,
if necessary, those individuals and systems of power that stand in the
way of building this beloved community in Harrisonburg.
The Renaming:
On February 12, 2013 Harrisonburg resident Stan Maclin asked city
council to name a street for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 9th,
a task force was appointed by the city to select a street to be
named. On August 13, 2013, in agreement with an overwhelming show of
support, City Council voted to rename Cantrell Avenue.
In September of 2013, a coalition of groups came together to
plan the dedication of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.
Groups and individuals continue to come forward with support in
terms of services and material and with endorsements and
participation to carry forward the message of that historic renaming.
Soon after being established, the Coalition engaged in a visioning process in which community members worked for weeks to distill Harrisonburg's most significant community engagement in living memory into a vision statement. The 2013 Coalition vision statement was echoed in 2025 by the table representing African American men who had come without spouses to the city sponsored visioning exercise for the Northeast small area plan, which disregarded the consultant's framing and wrote what they thought. Their sentiments were consistent with what other neighborhood residents confided privately, indicating it remains the accurate reflection of the true spirit of the city of Harrisonburg. The sentiment in the room was that the community had no voice, despite Mayor Reed and Councilmember Robinson, and that the city had its own plans for the community and would not yield agency over governance or plans for their own community to them.
| Coalition: |
City: |
interpretation |
| Harmony between people and with nature |
A Harmonious Community |
Omits nature. |
| inclusive community |
harmonious, caring, welcoming city |
Newcomers are guests, not owners. Those who built this without being included and those who were here before the colonizers claimed it, don't see repair. |
| every person is loved and valued, regardless of any differences, |
differences are embraced, celebrated, and accommodated. |
Centers differences over people. Replaces love with accomodation and commodifies value. |
| is empowered to participate, have a voice |
has access to city services |
Reduces people to consumers without agency. |
| effect positive change in her or his community |
and have abundant opportunity. |
Sets people up to take the blame for their circumstances. |
| We will work tirelessly |
We continuously |
Those accustomed to commanding others have merit because of who they are, not what they do. |
| create a sustainable democracy that is led and owned by the people, one in which the people have timely access to the information and expertise needed for governance. |
[SILENCE] |
Doesn't open a path to becoming a Deanna Reed, Monica Robinson, Sal Romero, Nassar Al Saadun, Kaylene Seigle, Obie Hill, Eric Campbell, Eric English, Gabriel Camacho, Chris Jones, commissionors Byrd, Washington, and others not born to advantage |
| advocate for this vision and challenge, if necessary, those individuals and systems of power that stand in the way of building this beloved community in Harrisonburg. |
overcome barriers to progress and boldly address inequities. |
Precludes accountability. |
Únase a la Coalición Harrisonburg Martin Luther King, Jr. Way para eventos en vivo y en línea, incluida una marcha a lo largo de la sección histórica de Martin Luther King, Jr. Way al mediodía, en el feriado de Martin Luther King, Jr. Regístrese ahora y únase a la lista de correo para comenzar a organizar en http://MLKJrWay.org
Declaración de la visión:
La Coalición Martin Luther King, Jr. Way cree en una comunidad inclusiva en la que cada persona es amada y valorada, independientemente de las diferencias, y está capacitada para participar, tener voz y lograr un cambio positivo en su comunidad. Trabajaremos incansablemente para crear una democracia sostenible que sea dirigida y poseída por el pueblo, en la que el pueblo tenga acceso oportuno a la información y los conocimientos necesarios para la gobernabilidad. Defenderemos esta visión y desafiaremos, si es necesario, a aquellas personas y sistemas de poder que se interpongan en el camino de construir esta amada comunidad en Harrisonburg.
Historia de la Coalición:
En septiembre de 2013, una coalición de grupos se unió para planificar la dedicación de Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Los grupos y las personas continúan brindando apoyo en términos de servicios y materiales, y respaldando y participando para llevar adelante el mensaje de ese cambio de nombre histórico.
El cambio de nombre:
El 12 de febrero de 2013, el residente de Harrisonburg, Stan Maclin, pidió al consejo de la ciudad que nombrara una calle para el Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. El 9 de abril, la ciudad nombró un grupo de trabajo para seleccionar una calle para nombrarla. El 13 de agosto de 2013, de acuerdo con una abrumadora muestra de apoyo, el Concejo Municipal votó para cambiar el nombre de Cantrell Avenue. Lea más sobre la historia del cambio de nombre, incluida la historia del "Gran General" que resultó ser un error tipográfico, en http://HistoricCantrellAve.com
