Palm Springs, CA (January 16, 2024) – The MLK Day rally and march held on what would have been Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 94th birthday showcased a swell of support for the victims and survivors of Palm Springs Section 14. Attendance and enthusiasm at the event – the only one held for MLK Day on MLK Day in Palm Springs – marked surging awareness of the destruction of homes in Section 14 in the 1960s and increasing calls for justice.

“Dr. King taught us to stand up for what is right even when people in power are telling you to sit down,” said Pearl Devers, Founder and President of the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors. “For the Survivors, unity across groups is vital in our march for restorative justice. Our differences are not dividers, but instead, we can continue to walk in Dr. King’s footsteps by embracing our shared commitment to justice. We thank these cross-generational groups and clergy members for joining us in this shared mission to make our families whole again.”

“White churches in Palm Springs, who stood in silence in the 1960s as Section 14 residents were being evicted and homes destroyed, were complicit,” said Rev. Dan Kline of the Church of St. Paul in the Desert. “As a white pastor of one of the largest churches in Palm Springs, I commit today that we will not make that mistake again.”

Attendees partook in a spirited rally at Frances Stevens Park, followed by a symbolic march to the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs, where a standing-room only crowd packed the church. The public event featured a number of clergy leaders from Palm Springs, San Bernardino and Los Angeles who paid homage to Dr. King and repeatedly called for justice for the Section 14 survivors. 

At the interfaith service, former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer was in attendance to support the Section 14 Survivors, stating: “I hope more people learn about this and demand that there be justice. We’re hoping the City Council can come to a very targeted, tailored agreement to make these people whole for what they went through.”

“A year ago, we hosted an interfaith service that galvanized support, and the crowd at our MLK Day commemoration was triple that size,” said Areva Martin, Esq., lead counsel for the Section 14 Survivors. “The coalition we are building and the broad solidarity we are seeing suggests growing political power among diverse groups in Palm Springs. To see such a diverse array of allies and advocates stand shoulder to shoulder with the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors and join us in demanding restitution and reparatory justice for their significant losses affirm that we are on the right side of history.”

Joining the Section 14 Survivors in producing this spirited event were the Stonewall Democrats of the Desert, Brothers of the Desert, Special Needs Network, Inc., Community Build, Palm Springs Black History Committee, Desert Highland Gateway Community Action Association, and the Los Angeles Urban League. The day concluded with a video tribute to Dr. King, which featured his famous “I have a dream” speech.

“Dr. King’s dream for a more inclusive and fairer society continues to inspire us all,” said David Weiner, Chair of the Stonewall Democrats of the Desert. “As Dr. King once reminded us, ‘the time is always right to do what is right.’ He understood that the fight for civil rights was a shared struggle, as it has been for the LGBTQIA+ community and others across decades. The Stonewall Democrats of the Desert were proud to stand in solidarity with the Section 14 Survivors on King Day as they continue their march to restorative justice and seek to right the racial injustices of the past.”

“In the spirit of Dr. King’s enduring legacy, we were proud to stand with the Section 14 Survivors as they speak their truth and demand justice,” said Tim Vincent, President of the Brothers of the Desert. “Dr. King taught us all that our voices are stronger when raised together, and that the march for justice is a journey we must embark on as a united front. The Brothers of the Desert will continue to echo the Survivors’ calls for justice and tell the story of what occurred in Section 14.”

The occasion demonstrated unity across intergenerational and cross-cultural groups from Palm Springs and throughout Southern California, amid the Section 14 Survivors’ ongoing quest for long-overdue restorative justice. In 2021, the City of Palm Springs issued a formal apology for its role in destroying Section 14 to pave the way for commercial development in Downtown Palm Springs, promising tangible solutions to rectify the impact on affected families. Despite the commitment, negotiations between the Survivors and city officials remain at a standstill. 

Speakers at the King Day event invoked the legacy of Dr. King, urging the city to come back to the negotiating table to address this historical injustice that disproportionately impacted Black and Brown residents of Palm Springs.

Rev. Dan Kline, Church of St. Paul Desert. (Diamond Dust Photography)

Photos and video of the event are also available (please attribute to Diamond Dust Photography):  https://diamonddustphotography.smugmug.com/MLK-Section-14-March

About Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors:

Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors is a non-profit group deeply rooted in the history and legacy of Palm Springs, composed of more than 1,000 survivors and descendants of Palm Springs Section 14.

Section 14, a one-square-mile area just east of downtown Palm Springs, was a vibrant community of predominantly African American and Latino residents. From the late 1950s through the 1960s, the City of Palm Springs, seeking commercial development, demolished this thriving community, destroying homes, personal property, and belongings without warning.

This destruction led to significant economic, physical, and emotional trauma for the residents of Section 14 and their descendants, who have not been able to recover the generational wealth that was taken from them. The survivors and descendants, with the support and counsel of leading civil rights attorney Areva Martin, continue to seek justice and restitution. Their mission transcends monetary compensation, it is a quest for acknowledgement of the past, communal healing, and the establishment of restorative measures that ensure such injustices are never repeated.

Learn more at Section14Survivors.com or KnowBeforeYouGoPalmSprings.com