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MLK celebration in Statesboro
MLK Parade for Web
    The daughter of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will speak at Georgia Southern on Tuesday, January 16, to culminate the celebration of her father's life in Bulloch County.
    The Rev. Bernice King will speak at Georgia Southern's Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. as part of the school's campus wide celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader.
    Bernice King currently serves as the assistant pastor at the Greater Rising Star Baptist Church in Atlanta where she oversees the youth and women's ministries.
    In the day's leading up to King's speech, other events will also be taking place, put on by the Bulloch County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, including the annual parade and prayer/leadership breakfast.
    More than 100 different entries are expected for the parade, scheduled for Monday, January 15.
    The parade is just part of the celebration to honor the late civil rights leader as a prayer breakfast and community celebration are also set.
    "It's important for us not to forget the important contribution he made to the healing of this country," said Carlos Brown, former president of the Bulloch County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "This country has to be reminded every so often the importance of treating everyone equally and this program to honor Dr. King is a good reminder of that."
    The events start on Saturday, January 13 with the annual prayer breakfast, this year to be held at First Baptist Church, with guest speaker Dr. Ja Jahanes, a professor from Savannah State University.
    "Our theme this year is 'United We Stand: One Nation Under God' and so Dr. Jahanes will be giving a motivational speech to the young people telling them about the importance of getting an education," said Pearl Brown, president of the NAACP.
    Tickets for the breakfast are $10 and can be obtained by calling Brown at (912) 839-3321.
    Then, on Monday January 15, the annual parade will take place beginning at 2 p.m. followed by the community service beginning immediately following the parade, which should be around 3 p.m.
    The keynote speaker for that event will be Dr. Denise Weems, assistant professor at Georgia Southern University.
    "This is not just a celebration for African-Americans," Pearl Brown said, "but it's for all of Bulloch County's citizens. Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy was, and is, for all people and it's important to keep that in the forefront."
    King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. on April 4, 1968 after years of leading the campaign for civil rights in the United States, including leading the boycott of the bus system in Montgomery, Ala.
    "In some respects, we have made great progress," said Carlos Brown. "But we have a long way to go. We have to many instances of people being treated wrongly in schools and in their jobs."
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