MLK Day a chance to reflect, remember
Due to COVID, no formal event is planned locally.
Right now, it’s easy to get lost in an uncertain world, and often difficult to look back and reflect. This Monday, however, it’s time to do just that.
Monday, Jan. 17, marks the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy. In an average year, cities and towns across the country would see large celebrations, but things haven’t been quite normal for a while now.
Walter Harris of the Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee says that this year’s celebration will echo last year’s in an effort to keep to CDC guidelines around gatherings and keep everyone safe. He’s hoping next year will be the year to get back into the swing of things.
This year’s event is informal, with Harris asking individuals to leave flowers and reflect at the MLK monument at the corner of Court Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive “in memory of their loved ones and in memory of the ones who passed and paved the way before us.”
Harris is also asking folks to leave a candle or light burning in their window on the night of Saturday, Jan. 15 to memorialize Dr. King on his actual birth date.
“We’re trying to keep unity in the community,” said Harris.
Dr. King was a civil rights icon, a driving force behind the push for equal rights and opportunities for Black Americans. He led the Montgomery bus boycotts and the Selma and Washington, D.C., marches.
Though he is gone, now, his memory continues to be
a driving force in communities all over the nation. His words of nonviolence, unity, and perseverance ring true even 56 years after his death.
“I say to you today, my friends,” said Dr. King in his iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, “that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.”
Dr. King would have been 93 this year.
To contact Harris regarding future local events or to donate, call 706-263-4584.