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MLK Parade canceled because of rain forecast
But ‘Community Conversations’ still on for Saturday
2024 MLK Day  Parade
In this file photo, parade participants round the corner onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive during the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade on Monday. Citing forecasts of rain and health concerns, the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Organizing Committee of the Bulloch County NAACP has canceled the parade that was set for this Saturday. However, the “Community Conversations” program planned to be held at City Hall that day is still on, with a start time of 2 p.m. (SCOTT BRYANT/staff)

Citing forecasts of rain and health concerns, the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Organizing Committee of the Bulloch County NAACP has canceled the parade that was set for this Saturday. However, the “Community Conversations” program planned to be held at City Hall that day is still on, with a start time of 1 p.m.

It is also possible that a parade could be held at a later date, Yevette McCall, president of the Bulloch County Branch of the NAACP, indicated in a texted reply Wednesday afternoon.

“We are meeting today to consider an alternate date,” she wrote, after communicating with Organizing Committee Chair Dorsey Baldwin and others about the cancelation.

The decision was made while the National Weather Service forecast for Statesboro included a 90% chance of rain for Saturday, with precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

“Right, and we are concerned about people attending and those in the parade being out in the cold and wet,” McCall texted.  “It has been a lot of sickness already in the community. Coming out in that kind of weather may not be the best option.”

 

Conversations at 1 p.m.

But “Community Conversations,” originally scheduled to occur immediately after the parade, will still be held, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, indoors at Statesboro City Hall, also known as the historic Jaeckel Hotel, 50 East Main St.

“That will be an event where we will really be talking about the life and legacy of MLK and then some of the things that the community would like to see the NAACP have conversations about or set our meetings around,” McCall said in an earlier interview.

A food truck was slated to be positioned near City Hall during this event.

 

Day of Service

And the official Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday, Monday, Jan.  20, is still scheduled for a local “Day of Service” activity.

However, the planned site and time for this also changed after the earlier announcements. Now the Day of Service work is slated for Restoring the Breach at the Outreach Center, 515 Denmark St.

The new notice on the Bulloch County NAACP Facebook page invites volunteers to work at Restoring the Breach from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday, repacking backpacks with school supplies for Bulloch County students. Donations of school supplies are also being accepted.

Restoring the Breach Inc. is a Statesboro-based nonprofit corporation that hosts tutoring services for youth and workshops for adults on topics such as family budgeting and career preparedness, as well as other social services programs.

Originally, the Bulloch NAACP had slated to do service work at Statesboro Food Bank. But scheduling for Monday worked out better for volunteers to serve at Restoring the Breach and not the Food Bank, McCall said.

 

Last weekend

Local events of the national holiday observance actually began last Saturday, Jan. 11, with the annual youth-led NAACP Prayer Breakfast in the Williams Center on the Georgia Southern campus.

School-age members of the Bulloch County NAACP Youth Council work with adult volunteers to host the breakfast, co-sponsored also by the NAACP Georgia Southern University Chapter. The Xi Tau Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Georgia Southern performed a tribute as part of this year’s breakfast. Dr. King was one of a several prominent civil rights leaders who have been Alpha Phi Alpha members.

Keynote speaker for the breakfast was Chelsea Weaver, the Statesboro-based licensed professional counselor who operates Bloom House Therapy and Wellness. The Georgia Southern University Gospel Choir performed during the breakfast, which serves as the Youth Council’s annual fundraiser.

Then an MLK Celebration Church Service was held last Sunday, Jan. 12, at the Elm Street Church of God.

The theme for the overall 2025 observance is “Dream with Hope; Believe in the Community; Lead with Purpose.”

During Sunday’s service, Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar was recognized as this year’s parade grand marshal.

Wednesday, he said he was pleased to be recognized in this way, “especially by people that you’ve grown up with and work with” even if the parade was to be canceled. The mayor said he looks forward to Saturday’s Community Conversations.

“It’s always a great opportunity to come together with the community and discuss pertinent topics that are in the forefront of community members’ minds,” McCollar said.
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