Chelsea Community Invited to Reaffirm Equal Rights Proclamation Today

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Chelsea residents are invited to be part of a special reaffirmation of the city's position on equality and human rights during a ceremony at the Chelsea Police Station in the city council chambers.

The council chambers will be open at 6:30 p.m. Monday so residents who would like to sign the proclamation may do so before it is framed and presented to the Chelsea City Council for display.

"Many details are still being confirmed and finalized. We do know, however that several local dignitaries plan to attend and participate and make public comments," Jennifer Kundak, event co-organizer said.

The framed proclamation, will be available at different community locations in the coming months to give all citizens the opportunity to sign and show their support of this document.

Visit the group’s Facebook page for evolving details of the event.

For questions or details, contact Mickey Howe at mickray@aol.com.

Five ways King is tied to Michigan:

1. Original Dream Speech - King first delievered the "I have a Dream" speech to a crowd of 150,000 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, two months before the famous rendention in during the March on Washington in 1963.

2. Historical Recording - The original version of the "Dream" speech was recorded by Gordy Records, a subsidiary of Motown Records in Detroit.

3. Rosa Parks Bus - When she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a public bus in 1955, Rosa Parks, a tired black seamstress, sparked the civil rights movement that King led. That bus remains one of the most visited exhibits in Dearborn's Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.

4. Visit to Grosse Pointe - In 1968, King gave a speech to a crowd of 2,700 at what is now Grosse Pointe South High School, according to the Grosse Pointe Historical Society. He was assasinated three weeks later.

5. MLK Symposium - Monday will mark the 27th annual MLK symposium at the University of Michigan. Each year the university focuses on a topic related to King in an effort to "remember the work and legacy of Dr. King." This year's theme is 50 Years Later (R) Evolution of the Dream.