Here are some images from Auburn’s 40th celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday. The General Gomez Arts & Event Center organized the march and program in downtown Auburn at their arts center. The theme for the event was “Strategizing for Change.”
It was a well-attended, uplifting event with over 100 people that began with rapper Unity Lewis leading a downtown march. It was then followed by an event at the center that included Native American music by Mignon Geli and Mountain Lion. M.C. Mic Jordan continued by sharing some of his family history with Dr. King and Lewis performed “From dreams to reality.”
Next, Ethel Long-Scott from the Women’s Economic Agenda Project was the event’s featured speaker. She spoke on the importance of strategizing the progressive movement and uniting the different voices and communities from within the greater movement.
For more information, please see the Auburn Journal’s article by Traci Newell.
Equipment
- Nikon D780 body
- Nikkor 70-200, f/2.8
- Tamron 24-70mm, f/2.8
- Nikkor 85mm, f/1.8G
My challenge for this event was how fast the marchers went (typical with smaller groups) and the inside darkness of the event center. I managed to drop my Tamron while walking too fast and trying to switch to my longer zoom, but fortunately it wasn’t damaged. I never want to shoot with flash if I am trying to document an event, and so all these images were only with ambient light.
As usual, Topaz De-Noise saved me with its great noise-reduction capabilities.
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All photos are copyright Chris Allan and cannot be used without my written permission. Please contact me for usage rights. Thank you for reading my blog post “Uplifting Auburn event honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy.” To learn more about me and my work, please see my About page.