Augusta events honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2023
(Editor's note: A previous version of this story included an event that is not scheduled at Reed Creek Nature Park in Martinez. The Augusta Chronicle regrets the error.)
The Augusta area is playing host to events large and small to help commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Here’s a brief roundup of activities:
Tri-college celebration
Paine College, Augusta University and Augusta Technical College will join in a multicampus celebration honoring Dr. King beginning at noon Friday at Paine’s Gilbert-Lambuth Memorial Chapel.
The event is free and open to the public, and will be streamed live online.
The guest speaker is Dr. Lewis Baldwin, emeritus professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University. The historian, author and professor specializes in the history of Black churches in the United States, in particular Spencer Churches, which comprise two of the nation’s oldest Black denominations.
In King's name:Organizations honor MLK with acts of service in community
A dream deferred?Speaker: MLK’s dream thwarted because of persistent racism
City parade
The annual MLK Parade, sponsored by the city of Augusta and the Augusta branch of the NAACP, will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dyess Park Community Center, 902 James Brown Blvd.
The parade will proceed south on James Brown Boulevard, then west onto Wrightsboro Road, north onto Augusta Avenue, east onto Laney Walker Boulevard and north onto 11th Street to the former Johnson Motor Co., 1122 Walton Way.
Church celebration
The 36th Annual Global Race Unity Inc. Memorial Celebration for Dr. King will be at noon Monday at Abilene Baptist Church, 3917 Washington Road in Martinez. A pre-musical will begin at 11 a.m., featuring the Augusta Chorale of Georgia and the Aiken Civic Orchestra.
The guest speaker will be the Rev. Clarence Moore, senior pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Augusta.
The theme will be Overcoming Oppression Without Violence.
Grovetown celebration
The city of Grovetown’s observance for Dr. King will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Liberty Park Community Center, 1040 Newmantown Road. The guest speaker will be Bishop Esaias Merritt of Macedonia Church of Grovetown.
The host of the event will be Grovetown City Councilwoman Ceretta Smith.
Basketball skills camp
A basketball skills camp put on by the Will Avery Basketball Academy will be Monday at the Augusta Dream Center, 3364 Peach Orchard Road. Boys and girls in fourth through eighth grades who want to participate in the camp must write and submit a one-page essay on Dr. King. Spots for the camp are limited.
For more information, call the Dream Center at (706) 364-2860
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Martin Luther King Jr. events in Augusta. Georgia this weekend
