March, concert and more will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa's 2023 Realizing the Dream events surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will feature a concert by gospel artist Tasha Cobbs Leonard, the 14th Legacy Awards Banquet, and Unity Day activities including a breakfast and rally on the day itself, Jan. 16.

This year's theme, "Realizing the Dream Through Commitment and Sacrifice" was chosen by a committee with representatives from Stillman College, the University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College and the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

More:University of Alabama makes available digital version of 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'

The Legacy Awards Banquet will be in the Bryant Conference Center's Sellers Auditorium, at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The speaker will be Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, who received international recognition for leading 22,000 troops in 2005 post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

Last year, Honoré was praised by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for investigating security failures at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Lt. Col. George Hardy, one of the few surviving Tuskegee Airmen, will receive the Mountaintop Award. Hardy received his pilot’s wings and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in September 1944, flying 21 combat missions in World War II, 45 in the Korean War and 70 in Vietnam.

Retired Lt. Gen. Willie J. Williams will receive the Call to Conscience Award. Williams, a 1974 Stillman graduate — the alma mater named its Institute for Leadership, Education Equity and Race Relations after him — served in the Marines for 40 years, rising to Marine Corps chief of staff, third in the chain of command for the entire branch, behind only the commandant and assistant commandant.

Christopher Gill, a military veteran pursuing a doctoral degree in educational psychology at UA, will receive the Horizon Award. Gill has dedicated his life to helping ex-military members make the transition into civilian life. His work is credited with preventing suicides.

Georgia-based gospel singer-songwriter and minister Leonard will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 in UA's Moody Concert Hall. Her 2013 single "Break Every Chain" won the Grammy for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance.

She has also won 15 Stellar Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, five ASCAP awards, and nine Dove Awards. Her albums "Grace," "One Place: Live," "Heart. Passion. Pursuit" and "Heart. Passion. Pursuit: Live at Passion City Church" have all reached No. 1 on US gospel charts, as have her singles "Break Every Chain," "For Your Glory" and "I'm Getting Ready," which also featured Nicki Minaj.

Leonard grew up in Jesup, Georgia, and began her ministry at Jesup New Life Ministries, founded by her father, Bishop Fritz Cobbs. For more, see www.tashacobbsleonard.com.

The SCLC will sponsor activities beginning at 7 a.m. Jan. 16, with a breakfast at Beulah Baptist Church, 3100 25th St., Tuscaloosa; a Unity Day march beginning at noon from the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, 2430 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd; and the annual Mass Rally starting at 5 p.m. at First African Baptist Church, 2621 Stillman Blvd. The Mass Rally speaker will be the Rev. Vernon Swift of Elizabeth Baptist Church.

All Unity Day activities are free and open to the public.

Tickets to the banquet are $30 each, or $200 for a table of eight. Dress is semiformal.

Tickets for both the banquet and Leonard's concert — $20 each — are available through www.ua.universitytickets.com. For more, call 205-348-7111, email community.affairs@ua.edu or see www.realizingthedream.ua.edu.

Other Realizing the Dream events will take place throughout 2023.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Realizing the Dream events include honors banquet, concert, Unity Day