Celebrating MLK
The life and legacy of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be observed with a slate of events locally that are suited for the entire family.
Held in person and virtually, events beginning Wednesday (Jan. 5) and ending in late February will be held to celebrate King's commitment to achieve equality and social justice for all.
One of the highlights of the celebration will once again be people walking hand-in-hand singing freedom songs and waving signs at the 2022 King Celebration Commemorative March that will begin at noon on Jan. 17 at the King Memorial Garden in front of city hall between First and Second streets on E. University Avenue. The march will proceed down E. University Avenue to Waldo Road where it will turn north toward Northeast Eighth Avenue to Citizens Field at 1400 NE Eighth Ave.
This year's theme for local King Celebration activities will be “These are Troubled Times: We’re Still Fighting.”
The local annual King Celebration was established in 1984 by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Florida with a mission to continue King’s legacy by advocating and nonviolently promoting the elimination of poverty, racism and social and economic justice in Alachua County and Florida.
One of the highlights of the King Celebration will be the Edna M. Hart Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Award, which recognizes the academic achievements, civic involvement and leadership of high school seniors. The scholarship this year will be awarded to Gabrielle Gregory, a senior at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School. Since 1989, the King Commission has awarded more than $325,000 in scholarships to high school seniors in Alachua County.
Gabrielle said the scholarship gives her an opportunity to talk about racism, discrimination and police brutality, which are things she has been passionate about for most of her life.
“I want to be an example to other youth that their voices can be heard despite their age,” said Gabrielle, adding she participated in a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Gainesville in 2020.
“It was inspiring seeing people come together, and reassuring we are not the only people fighting for us,” Gabrielle said.
Gabrielle said she plans to attend the University of Florida, and will major in health sciences to become a pediatric physical therapist.
This year's King Commission Hall of Fame inductee will be the late Judge Stephan P. Mickle, the first Black to serve on the bench in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Mickle, who was raised in Gainesville and who was a trailblazer in many regards before being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the federal judiciary in 1998 during the second term of former President Bill Clinton's administration, will be honored posthumously by the commission.
"The Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Florida Inc. is pleased to honor (posthumously); The Honorable Stephan P. Mickle, our local trailblazer, including African American Attorney, County, Circuit, District Court and U.S. Court Judge as the 2022 Hall of Fame Recipient,” Long stated via a text message.
Below is a list of King Celebration activities:
• Jan. 5-6: One Community will present “Who’s In The Box.”
The free play will be presented at 5 p.m. Jan. 5 for youth groups and organizations and at 6 p.m. for the public at The Star Center Theatre, 11 NE 23rd Ave., and at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 at Dayspring Baptist Church, 1945 NE Eighth Ave.
For more information, call 352-246-2533 or email marie.herring@yahoo.com.
• Jan. 9, with reception at 5:30 p.m. and gala at 6:30 p.m. as the King Commission will host its annual Hall of Fame Gala at the Best Western Gateway Grand Hotel, 4200 NW 97th Blvd.
Rodney J. Long, president and founder of the King Commission, will be the keynote speaker. Donations cost $100.
For tickets, call 352-376-2442.
• Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m., "Remembering Martin and Coretta" will be streamed live on Facebook from Dayspring Baptist Church at 1945 NE Eighth Ave.
For more information, call 352-376-2442.
• Jan. 12 at 7 p.m., Town Hall Symposium: “The Role of the Black Church in the Modern Social Justice Movement“ will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube from Dayspring Baptist Church, 1945 NE Eighth Ave.
For more information, call 352-214-7314.
• Jan. 14 at noon, the renaming of the Alachua County Courthouse in honor of the late U.S. Judge Stephan P Mickle.
For more information, call 352-339-6228.
• Jan. 14 at 6 p.m., jazz concert featuring Philip "JazzDad" Thomas and the Forever Miles Band at the Bo Diddley Downtown Community Plaza in Gainesville, 111 E. University Ave.
For more information, call 352-339-6228.
• Jan. 14 at 8 p.m., “The Color Purple” will be presented by the Star Center Theatre and King Commission at The Star Center Theatre, 11 NE 23rd Ave.
For more information, call 352-222-3699, 352-246-8071 or email angetrrll@aol.com.
• Jan.15 from 6 -7 p.m., World House Climate Conversation-to-Action and Overview of the Program Building Community in a Changing Climate "Me, My Dad AND Martin Luther King" will be held via Zoom.
For more information, email sueblythe@we.net.
• Jan. 17 at 11 a.m.: The Hall of Fame Award Enshrinement Program at the MLK Memorial Gardens, 200 E. University Ave., in honor of the late U.S. District Judge Stephan P. Mickle. .
Noon: King Celebration Annual Commemorative March from the MLK Memorial Gardens to Citizen’s Field.
1 p.m.: National Holiday Kick-Off Program at Citizen’s Field that will feature speeches by Gabrielle Gregory, recipient of the 2022 Edna M. Hart Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Rodney J. Long, founder and president of the MLK Jr. Commission of Florida.
For more information, call 352-374-2442.
• 2 p.m.: Free National Holiday Gospel Program featuring national recording artist Ann Nesby with Sounds of Blackness at Citizen’s Field, 1100 NE 14th St.
For more information, call 352-214-1044.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Celebrating MLK
