Hundreds gather in Oakland to honor MLK Day of Service

Byby Katie Utehs KGO logo

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Hundreds come out in Oakland to honor MLK Day of Service

In Oakland, hundreds came out to the Gardens at Lake Merritt to honor of the civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Many people around the Bay Area are spending Martin Luther King Jr. Day by volunteering in their community.[br /][br /]In Oakland, hundreds came out to the [url HREF="http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/" TARGET="" REL=""]Gardens at Lake Merritt[/url] to honor of the civil rights leader as part of the national MLK Day of Service.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/news/photos-bay-area-honors-martin-luther-king-jr-day-/1164156/" TARGET="" REL=""]PHOTOS: Bay Area honors Martin Luther King, Jr. Day [/url][/b][br /][post ID="1164156" /][br /][br /][br /]Many of the volunteers are participating by cleaning up some of the city's parks and gardens.[br /][Ads /][br /]"These gardens will be clean and beautiful for people to come and see them," said 9-year-old volunteer Olympia Pagolutos-Chavez.[br /][br /]"There's no dedicated staff to these gardens," explained Tora Rocha, with Oakland's Public Works department. She says the volunteers are vital.[br /][br /][b]WATCH VIDEO: [url HREF="http://abc7news.com/society/recording-of-dr-mlks-1964-nobel-prize-lecture-released/1163922/[br /]" TARGET="" REL=""]Recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 Nobel Prize lecture released[/url][/b][br /][br /][br /]"We're pesticide and herbicide free, so it takes a lot of human pulling weeds hours to keep it beautiful," she said.[br /][br /]Donald Cooper came out with friends to help do their part in keeping their city clean.[br /][br /]"It's civic participation. You have to win civil rights, but then once you have the rights you have the responsibility to participate, so that's what we're doing today," said Cooper.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/news/photos-the-legacy-of-martin-luther-king-jr/1163793/" TARGET="" REL=""]PHOTOS: The legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. [/url][/b][br /][post ID="1163793" /][br /][br /][br /][b]For a list of MLK Day of Service events where you live, [url HREF="http://www.volunteermatch.org/seasonsofservice/mlkday/" TARGET="" REL=""]click here[/url].[/b][br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/tag/martin-luther-king-jr/" TARGET="" REL=""]Click here[/url] to see how Dr. King is being honored here in the Bay Area and across the country.[/b][br /]