Oakland, CA (press release) – On Thursday evening, OakTech Rep, which is Oakland Technical High School’s award-winning drama department, opens its remarkable new play, The Apollos. This production was created and written by the students of OakTech Rep, and it couldn’t be more topical. It tells the true story of how students and teachers at Oakland Tech helped lead the fight to get Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday recognized as a state holiday here in California.
The Apollos production and collaboration between the drama and music departments is based on research and interviews done by current students of the Apollos, a group of Oakland Tech students who, starting in 1977, worked to get the state to declare the civil rights leader’s birthday a holiday. After they worked for years, including many visits to Sacramento to lobby state leaders, in 1981, the legislature passed a law making MLK’s birthday a state holiday, and then-Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law. The state holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. was first observed in 1982.
The Apollos production and collaboration between the drama and music departments is based on research and interviews done by current students of the Apollos, a group of Oakland Tech students who, starting in 1977, worked to get the state to declare the civil rights leader’s birthday a holiday. After they worked for years, including many visits to Sacramento to lobby state leaders, in 1981, the legislature passed a law making MLK’s birthday a state holiday, and then-Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law. The state holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. was first observed in 1982.
WHAT: The Apollos – Drama Production by OakTech Rep
WHEN: 7:00 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, January 16-18; 5:00 p.m., Sunday, January 19
WHERE: Oakland Technical High School Auditorium, 4351 Broadway
WHAT: Party for the Promise
WHEN: 6:00 p.m., Saturday, January 18
WHERE: Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Avenue