ATHENS-Athens will celebrate the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday with programs that inspire and celebrate community involvement, a tribute to King’s legacy of encouraging citizens to actively improve their communities.
On Monday, Jan. 18, when the MLK Jr. Holiday is observed, activities will kick off in downtown Athens with the 11th annual Athens-Limestone Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday March. Everyone is invited to gather on the south side of the Limestone County Courthouse at 8:50 a.m. The march will start at 9 a.m. and go to the Limestone County Event Center.
The program will start at 9:30 a.m. and include songs, poems and students reading their winning essays on the topic “How Equality and Inclusion Inspire Change.” The committee received nearly 50 essays with the fourth grade class at Julian Newman Elementary turning in over 30 essays.
The free event also includes refreshments. The march and program are organized and sponsored by the Limestone County NAACP, City of Athens and Limestone County Commission. For more information about this program, contact Benard Simelton at 256-426-6406.
Another favorite tradition is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Ceremony organized by the Lincoln-Bridgeforth Park Committee, a free event for the community. That ceremony will be Monday at 11 a.m. at Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church on Westmoreland Avenue.
Organizer Robbin Hines said this year’s guest speaker is the Rev. Dr. Will Boyd, the eighth pastor of St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Florence. Boyd is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives for Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District. In 2009, Boyd was the first black elected to City Council in Greenville, Ill. He is an author and has degrees in mechanical engineering, religion, management and Christian clinical psychology.
This is the program’s 19th year. The Round Island Creek Association Male Chorus will perform. Lunch will be served following the program.
As it has traditionally done, the committee will name a recipient for the Dr. C. Eric Lincoln Humanitarian of the Year Award. Lincoln was a graduate of Trinity High School in Athens, an author, theologian, ordained Methodist minister and a professor of religion at Duke University. The award recognizes a citizen or group for volunteering in the community. In addition, the committee will recognize other volunteers including first responders from the City of Athens and the Athens Mayor’s Youth Commission.
“Without volunteers and support from our community, there are programs we would not be able to provide,” Hines said.
The Lincoln-Bridgeforth Park Committee, for example, hosts an annual toy/bicycle give-away at Christmas, a school supply give-away, and other events.
For more information on this event, contact Hines at 256-614-5622.
