Martin Luther King Jr. speakers share their life stories at Everett and Lynnwood events

EVERETT -- Herman Boone, whose story inspired the Disney film "Remember the Titans," starring Denzel Washington, is the keynote speaker of Tuesday's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in Everett.

In 1971, Boone faced the challenge of his life when he was tapped to coach the football team after the courts integrated T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va.

Racial tensions already ran high in the city and only escalated when Boone, an African American, was named head coach of the Titans, passing over Bill Yoast, the local favorite and successful head coach of the former all-white Hammond High School.

The coaches put aside their differences and in doing so helped unite their players to form a team with a common vision.

Their leadership helped lead the team to a 13-0 record and a state championship victory.

It's Snohomish County's largest Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

In Lynnwood on Thursday, author and civil rights leader Myrlie Evers-Williams, the first woman to lead the NAACP, will speak to an audience at the Lynnwood Convention Center.

Speakers like these help educate the community, said Everett spokeswoman Kate Reardon, who helps organize the annual event.

Reardon said speakers are asked to talk about their own life experiences and how they relates to the message of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Boone is expected to speak to more than 1,600 students at an assembly at Lynnwood High School before the Everett event.

Hundreds more students from Everett, Arlington and Marysville School districts are expected to join the march and speech in Everett on Tuesday.

A committee of volunteers, including representatives with the city of Everett, Snohomish County government, YMCA of Snohomish County and United Way of Snohomish County, organized the event and helped raise private donations to pay for the free half-day celebration.

Past speakers of the event include National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Chairman Julian Bond, United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, American Indian author Sherman Alexie, Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees, and Yolanda King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s oldest child.

The committee has discussed hiring the actor Denzel Washington, but decided his speaking fee was more than it could afford.



Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.

Speaker biographies

Herman Boone, 73

In 1971, Boone was tapped to coach the football team for a newly integrated high school in Alexandria, Va.

His leadership helped bridge deep racial divisions on the team which won the state championship after a 13-0 season in his first year as head coach.

The Disney film "Remember the Titans" starring Denzel Washington is based on his story.



Myrlie Evers-Williams, 75

Myrlie Evers-Williams became the first woman to lead the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, when she was elected to the position of chairwoman in 1995.

A native of Vicksburg, Miss., Evers-Williams married Medgar Evers, whom she met in college. The couple managed the first NAACP state office in Mississippi.

Medgar Evers was assassinated in June 1963. The couple's three small children witnessed the murder at the front door of their home in Jackson, Miss.

Evers-Williams moved her family to California. She has written books, including "Watch Me Fly."

Sources: NAACP Web site; Herman Boone's publicist