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MLK Celebrations at URMC

Alex Crichton

Local 1199 SEIU health care workers hosted their 36th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr celebration today, with music, dance and spoken word.

People filled Whipple Auditorium, where they heard from Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, who delivered the keynote address.

She talked about the history of the local SEIU 1199 healthcare workers union, and how it continues to fight for better wages, better healthcare, better training, job security and more.

She said Dr. King stood up for social justice and equal rights under the law.

"We are proud to honor him in the city of Rochester, and proud to be here with SEIU 1199 which has done so much for health care workers across the country.  And so we will continue to celebrate him and celebrate his legacy," she said.

Mayor Warren says the holiday honors a man who truly believed in service above self.

"In today's climate, when the world is in turmoil about what will happen next.  We must remember the dream of Dr. King.  And realize that for our children's sake, it cannot and will not be deferred," she said.

David Heath is vice chair of local 1199.

He says it was celebration of what Dr. King stood for and the injustices his stood against.

"We understand that there are injustices, but when our people, country and nation all stick together, there's nothing we cannot overcome," he said.

Here's an excerpt from Mayor Warren's keynote: