By Daily Press staff
Paul F. Cummins, a long-time Santa Monica educator and currently executive director of the New Visions Foundation, will be the keynote speaker at the celebration of the birthday of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 17, 2004, at the First United Methodist Church, 1008 11th St. in Santa Monica.
The free event — which has reportedly become one of the largest celebrations of its kind in Southern California — is scheduled for 9 a.m. The event is coor-dinated by the Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition, a nonprofit coalition whose mission is consistent with King’s legacy. It is cosponsored by Santa Monica College, the City of Santa Monica and the SMC Associates. The multi-ethnic, interfaith program will also include inspirational readings, music and presentations of scholarships. Immediately following the program will be a Community Involvement Fair with refreshments and informational booths of various community organizations. The theme is “State of the Union: A Time for Love, Not Hate, for Understanding, Not Anger, for Peace, Not War.”
Cummins, who is best known as founder and headmaster of Crossroads School in Santa Monica, as well as the New Visions Foundation and PS Arts, received his bachelor’s degree from Stanford, master’s from Harvard and doctorate from USC.
He founded Crossroads in 1970 and, under the aegis of New Visions, he was the primary founder of New Roads School; a co-founder of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy; creator of CEO (Center for Educational Opportunity), which places foster children in independent schools; and founder of Families Helping Families, which redirects low-income families.
In addition, New Visions has instituted an after-school program at Camp Gonzales, a probationary incarceration school, to redirect and relocate juvenile students.
His publications include several articles on education and numerous poems that have appeared in journals such as The New Republic, Poetry LA, Whole Notes, Wild Bamboo Press, Bad Haircut Quarterly, Wordwrights, Slant and more. He is also the author of several books.
Cummins and his wife, Mary Ann, live in Santa Monica. They have four daughters.
For more information about the event, call (310) 434-4003.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 21, 2004. Read the original PDF.