{"id":3381,"date":"2017-02-02T17:22:32","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T17:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.afm47.org\/press\/?p=3381"},"modified":"2017-02-02T17:22:32","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T17:22:32","slug":"los-angeles-honors-legacy-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afm47.org\/press\/los-angeles-honors-legacy-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Honors Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"
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L.A. County Fed Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rusty Hicks, keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson, Senator Kamala Harris, Supervisor Hilda Solis, and SEIU 2015 President Laphonza Butler. (Photo: Monica Almeida, The Newspaper Guild)<\/p><\/div>\n

On Saturday, January 14, 2017, nearly 1,000 community and labor leaders and elected officials gathered for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast hosted by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.<\/p>\n

Held at the Westin Bonaventure downtown, the event kicked off with an address by newly elected United States Senator Kamala Harris. Sen. Harris has not only been a champion for California\u2019s working families, but she has been a leader in reducing recidivism and providing tools to re-enter back into civilian life.<\/p>\n

Attendees also heard from one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time. Known as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Nelson Mandela,\u201d Bryan Stevenson has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned. Stevenson is a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer, who has successfully argued several cases in the United States Supreme Court and recently won an historic ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme was \u201cFreed to Succeed\u201d to honor the 20 graduates of the L.A. Fed\u2019s Los Angeles Reentry Workforce Collaborative, a joint undertaking between four core partners: the LA Fed, the Los Angeles\/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Los Angeles Trade\u2013Technical College, and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.<\/p>\n

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AFM Local 47 represented at the 2017 MLK Breakfast From left: member Ron Jones, Trustee Bonnie Janofsky, Organizer Jefferson Kemper, member Clifford Tasner, California State Senator Pro Tem Kevin de Le\u00f3n, President John Acosta, and Secretary\/Treasurer Gary Lasley (Photo: Monica Almeida, The Newspaper Guild)<\/p><\/div>\n

Later that day, the LA Fed sponsored and took part in the annual Kingdom Day Parade. The basic freedoms we enjoy today are because of Dr. King\u2019s tireless efforts in organizing communities of all backgrounds, races, and religions.<\/p>\n\n\t\t