ATHENS-Athens and Limestone County residents will honor the legacy of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King. Jr. on Monday, Jan. 16, with events designed to uplift a community and inspire youth.
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday March and Program will start the morning on The Square. The public is invited to line up on the south side of the Limestone County Courthouse at 8:45 a.m. for the march that will start at 9 a.m. and go to the Limestone County Event Center.
The program at the center will start at 9:30 a.m. and include students reading their winning essays focused on their ideas about promoting freedom and justice. There will be songs and the reading of excerpts from Dr. King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Refreshments will be served after the program. The local NAACP, City of Athens and Limestone County Commission host the march and program.
The second event will be the Lincoln-Bridgeforth Park Advisory Board’s 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at 11 a.m. at Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church on Westmoreland Street.
The guest speaker is Tanner High School Football Coach Laron White, who has led the Rattlers to region and state titles. White played football at the University of Alabama under Coach Gene Stallings from 1993 to 1996.
In honor of the late Athens City Councilman Jimmy Gill, the board will present the first Jimmy W. Gill Youth Leadership Award to Chadarius Townsend of Tanner High.
The program also includes music provided by Round Island Creek Association Male Chorus and Athens High School Choir. Lunch will be provided after the program.
