On Saturday, January 14, 2023, Holman United Methodist Church partnered with Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA), Angel City Chorale, and the Los Angeles Chapter of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference to present a free Martin Luther King Jr. Day Concert.

The event featured a setting of “I Have a Dream”, Dr. King’s iconic speech presented at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963; the world premiere of a setting of Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” presented at the 2021 Inauguration of President Joe Biden; and reflections on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by the Rev. James M. Lawson Jr, pastor emeritus of Holman UMC.

On March 17, 1968, less than three weeks prior to his assassination, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached a sermon on “Hope” at Holman UMC.

Genia Dulot of Voice of America News reports:

Los Angeles based conductor Charles Dickerson is convinced that every metropolitan area with a big African American population should have a classical youth orchestra to help take local kids off the streets. He created the largest majority Black youth orchestra in the U.S.