Races unite at Santa Rosa volunteer park cleanup

Dennis McCarter's bald head glistened with sweat Monday, proof he was fulfilling the slogan, “A Day On, Not a Day Off,” linked to the holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

McCarter, 38, was part of a multiracial volunteer work brigade - about 75 men, women and children - using hand tools and wheelbarrows to spruce up Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in Santa Rosa's racially diverse South Park neighborhood.

“I'm here to do work and give back to parts of my community that need more attention,” said McCarter, a southwest Santa Rosa resident, insurance agent and martial arts instructor.

His son, Jayvyn, 12, a seventh-grader at Rincon Valley Charter School, paused from raking brown bark mulch.

“I kind of see it as a celebration of someone who gave us a little more freedom,” he said.

The sunny, bright blue sky made for an ideal outdoor work day on the heels of a rainy weekend. The event was hosted by the Santa Rosa Recreation and Parks Department, which provided tools and refreshments.

It was held for the fifth straight year at the park named after King, the Baptist minister and civil rights leader noted for his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 and assassinated five years later at age 39.

The third Monday of January was first observed as a national holiday in King's honor in 1986 but not recognized in all 50 states until 2000. It was designated by Congress as a national day of service in 1994.

Valerie Landes, 44, a southwest Santa Rosa resident, brought her sons, Benjamin, 8, and Adam, 4, to the work day, all wearing rubber boots as they used grabber tools to pluck litter from the soggy green grass.

“It seems silly to sit home and watch TV on a day of celebration for someone who was a champion for doing good,” Landes said.

Benjamin said Monday was a day “for staying home from school.”

Asked for a more deliberative answer, he said: “Cleaning up and playing on the playground.”

Cookie Keating, 34, a west Santa Rosa resident, raked mulch and swept the sidewalk with her infant daughter, Zoey, who just turned a year old, asleep in a sling across her mother's chest.

Keating said she saw a Facebook post about the work day and decided to participate.

“It's never too early to teach a child to start doing the right thing,” she said.

At one point, tiny Zoey helped her mom pull weeds. “I think she might have eaten some, too,” Keating said.

Amalia Doshelm, 12, who came up from Oakland with her parents and sister, moved wheelbarrows full of mulch around the park area near the Community Action Partnership Head Start building. Her family does a service project every year, she said.

Monday was “a day when we're celebrating someone who helped a lot of people - and the world,” she said.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spent about two minutes laying a wreath at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

“Ouch,” said Dennis McCarter, who is African-American.

“Wow,” said his wife, Laura, 37, who is white.

An interracial marriage like theirs was illegal until 2000 in Alabama, the last state in the union to repeal the ban, she said.

Dennis McCarter said he felt a sense of uncertainty on this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“People still want to come together to help,” he said, under a president “who doesn't recognize white supremacy or racism.”

“I find it to be a bit scary for myself and my son,” he said.

“I doubt our president has ever done a day of service in his life,” Laura McCarter said.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.