On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a Train Brings Generations Together in San Mateo

San Mateo -Joan Smith arrived early, wrapped in a scarf against the cold morning air, and watched as crews set out folding chairs and tested a sound system at the San Mateo Caltrain station.

"I've seen it all," Smith, 83, said Monday morning. "Sad times, good times. Been through it all."

As Smith spoke, the area beside the station filled quickly - not with commuters, but with parents balancing babies and toddlers on a hip, teenagers blinking awake and older visitors hugging one another.

They had come for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Train, a ride from San Jose to San Francisco with a stop in San Mateo that drew a crowd spanning generations, from civil rights veterans like Smith to 13-year-old Ruby Ojany of Menlo Park.

A seventh grader, Ojany paused for a moment before answering a question about her hopes for the future.

"Just to not care about race - acknowledge it, of course - and know that everybody's different and everybody's special, but not let that define people. And see them for their personality and not the color of their skin."

Justice Turner arrived with much of the College of San Mateo football team. Before ceremonies began, Turner and several teammates paused at a table from the Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center in Redwood City.

"It means everything to support the community, because they support us throughout the year," the 19-year-old said. "For me, personally, since I'm Afro Latino, it means a lot. Everything Martin Luther King Jr. did - the people he inspired, the standard he set - just bringing everybody together."

He framed it in the language he knows best. "That's what we learn in football," Turner said. "Everybody coming together for a common goal of winning and succeeding."

The train ride, which began years ago and was paused during the pandemic, is meant to echo the 54-mile 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, when civil rights leaders led thousands across Alabama to demand voting rights. On Monday, it returned, carrying riders together to Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in San Francisco.

As the area around the station filled, conversations faded for the Black national anthem, some singing softly along, others listening.

During the ceremony at the station, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Noelia Corzo scanned the crowd of more than 200 and gestured toward the younger faces clustered near the back and along the edges of the platform. "I see a lot of young people here," she said. "We need you."

The gathering was sponsored by Corzo, the County of San Mateo, the NAACP San Mateo Branch and the City of San Mateo

At 9:57 a.m. as the morning sun warmed the crowd, the train pulled in to the San Mateo station. As the doors opened, riders stepped on quickly. Seats filled. "Last call, all aboard," a Caltrain employee announced. Teenagers slid into window seats as parents lifted children onto their laps.

"I've never seen a train this full," someone said.

Earlier, Smith said she credits Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement with opening doors that once seemed closed - first in the corporate world, then as a flight attendant at a time when Black women were still rare in the role, and later as the owner of her own catering company.

"You want to see the younger generation have it better than you did," she said.

Jacki Rigoni
Chief of Staff
Board President Noelia Corzo
[email protected]