Remembering Dr. King Copyright © 2011 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
January 8, 2011
www.crossroadsnews.com
Section B
NAACP hosting annual King parade and rally Hundreds of adults and children in civic, political, business, school, social and fraternity organizations will celebrate “The Dream” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 17 in Stone Mountain. They will walk, march, dance and strut in the DeKalb NAACP’s ninth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and Rally. The event, co-sponsored by the city of Stone Mountain, will include marching bands from a number of DeKalb schools as well as elected and government officials. The annual parade celebrates the life of the late civil rights leader who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, and assassinated on April 4, 1968. The NAACP marches in Stone Mountain because King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech bought fame to the tiny village when he said “Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!” Marchers will gather in the MARTA parking lot on Fourth Street for the parade, which begins at 12:30 p.m. The rally begins immediately following the parade in the Champion Theme Middle School gym at 5265 Mimosa Drive. Through this week, marching bands from Tucker, McNair and Avondale high schools had signed up, and parade coordinator Sarah Copelin-Wood said more are expected. She is still taking registrations and groups can sign up this week. For more information or to participate, contact Sarah Copelin-Wood at copelin65
Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews
The DeKalb NAACP’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and Rally in Stone Mountain attracts scores of participants each year. The 2011 event begins at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 17.
@hotmail.com or at 404-371-1490. King, an Atlanta native who rose to world prominence advocating nonviolence to achieve civil rights, was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. Efforts to make his birthday a national holiday started soon after his death but failed to gain the needed votes during the 1970s. During the 1980s, several high-profile people, including singer Stevie Wonder, lob-
bied for a holiday. President Ronald Reagan signed a law in 1983 that started the federal holiday in 1986. Many states, including Arizona and South Carolina, stalled recognizing the holiday. It was not until 2000 that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was recognized in all 50 states. It is celebrated the third Monday in January, a day that falls close to his actual Jan. 15 birthday.
A hand like this.
It took a skillful hand like this to draft the plans of our nation’s capital city. It was a visionary hand like this which pointed out the moral superiority of a way based on character and not color. It was a thorough, good hand like this that championed our rights before the U.S. Supreme Court. It took millions of laboring hands like this to build the wealth and infrastructure of this mighty country. And it was a raised hand like this that was sworn in and gave kids of all complexions and cultures the legitimacy to believe they can achieve anything. In honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Georgia Power takes pride in celebrating the countless hands like this which have worked to uplift us all. We’ve got to hand it to you.
GEORGIAPOWER.COM
Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews