After two years when there was an outdoor drive-in service only, the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend observance in Statesboro returns to its full tradition in 2023 with a youth-oriented breakfast Saturday and a parade Monday followed by a church-hosted indoor community service.

Billing the Monday, June 16, events as “MLK: A Day of Service & Celebration,” the Bulloch County Branch of the NAACP has organized both the National Holiday Observance Parade, set to move at 2 p.m., and the community service that will follow at 3 p.m. at Elm Street Church of God, 29 Elm St.

But first comes the MLK Community Breakfast, which is being presented by the Bulloch County NAACP Youth Council and the Georgia Southern University NAACP Chapter at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, in the Williams Center, 74 Georgia Ave. on the Georgia Southern campus.

The parade, of course, is free to watch and Monday’s community service is free to attend, although donations will be accepted there.

Tickets for Saturday’s breakfast are $20, available in advance by calling 912-259-0102.

Parade returns

The theme for the 2023 parade is “Community, this is power.” Floats will be judged for awards based in part on how well they convey the power of community in relation to Dr. King’s message. Monday, Jan. 9, was the official deadline for parade entries, so organizers did not have a final count at midday as some entry forms remained to be collected from the drop-off points.

“But we’ve had a very great response from just the citizens of Bulloch County as well as from our schools and our different organizations,” said Sophia Johnson, secretary for the Bulloch County NAACP.

Overdue entries might still be accepted as late as Wednesday or Thursday, but no later, and the organizers will cap the parade at a maximum of 100 units, “just so we can have the logistics and the people in place to accommodate everyone as they are lining up,” Johnson said. The previous parade – which was the one back in 2020 – drew about 80 units, she noted.

Johnson and Lakesha Hill are the co-chairs for organizing this year’s parade.

The grand marshal, awarded the honor of leading it, is Quincy Hills (no relation to Hill), a social and emotional learning specialist at Langston Chapel Middle School chosen “not just for the efforts he makes in the classroom but how he helps students outside of the classroom,” said Johnson.

Parade units, including bands and other marching or walking groups, cars, pickup trucks and public safety vehicles as well as floats, will line up on East Olliff Street beginning at 11:30 a.m. and no later than 1 p.m. for the parade to start at 2 p.m., sharp. The parade will go down North Main Street past the courthouse, turn right onto West Main and then right again onto MLK Drive, to conclude at Luetta Moore Park.

Monday’s service

After the parade, Rev. Christopher Culbreth, pastor of the Original First African Baptist Church, Statesboro, will deliver the keynote message during the Community Service and Celebration in the Elm Street Church of God at 3 p.m.

The Rev. Daniel Foster III, Statesboro resident and pastor of Tremount Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Metter, is billed as presiding officer, or in other words master of ceremonies, for the event, with the Elm Street Church’s own Dr. Alexander Smith Jr. as host pastor.

Pastor Brock Taylor and the United Voices for Christ, an award-winning local community choir, will lead the musical element of the celebration.

Although the past two years’ drive-in celebrations were very successful in keeping local people actively involved in meaning of MLK Day during the pandemic, the Bulloch County NAACP is pleased to bring back the indoor observances, said branch President Delinda Gaskins.

“We’re going to take precautions and encourage people to wear masks if they feel more comfortable doing so, but it gives us the opportunity to come together as a community within spacious locations,” she said.

Saturday’s breakfast

Dr. Enola Mosely, a Bulloch County educator for 42 years, including 40 years at Statesboro High School, will be guest speaker for Saturday’s 9 a.m. breakfast at the Williams Center on the Georgia Southern campus. Georgia Southern NAACP Chapter President