A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday morning will feature Garfield Adams, Oak Ridge High School principal.
It’s the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Program, and it’s titled “The Community Speaks.” The theme for this year’s program is “A Change Has Come.”
The program is virtual, and it will be on Zoom Webinar. The program will feature a past first-place winner of the NAACP Essay Contest, a press release said.
[Read more…]
Archie Smart
In celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated (AKA), Oak Ridge Chapter, will present its 30th annual Community Speaks Program on Monday, January 15, at 9:45 a.m. at Consolidated Nuclear Security’s New Hope Center on Scarboro Road. This year’s theme is “Together We Win with Love for Humanity,” a press release said.
Archie Smart, the keynote speaker, is a native of South Carolina, a press release said. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from South Carolina State University. Smart is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as a commissioned officer in the Adjutant General Corps.
He is a project manager at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), where he manages the third consecutive National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) project, the press release said. [Read more…]
The Langston Hughes Library at the Children’s Defense Fund Haley Farm in Clinton will host an author session and book-signing event with Carolyn Maull McKinstry, author of “While the World Watched.” It will start at 3 p.m. in Haley Lodge on Sunday, April 19.
McKinstry is a survivor of the civil rights struggle and an eyewitness to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 16, 1963. The bombing resulted in the deaths of four young girls, all of whom McKinstry knew well. As a teenager, McKinstry marched under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and bravely faced Bull Connor’s German shepherds and stinging fire hoses during the battle for equal rights in her hometown of Birmingham.
Now, nearly 50 years after the bombing, McKinstry is still an active member of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, serves as president of the Sixteenth Street Foundation, and works full time spreading her message of racial reconciliation.
A highly sought-after speaker, McKinstry has appeared on Oprah, 20/20, CNN, and MSNBC, and portions of her story have been featured in Life magazine and USA Today. She has made numerous television and documentary appearances, including Spike Lee’s documentary “Four Little Girls,” Soledad O’Brien’s “Black in America,” Brian Williams’s “Shades of Progress, Shadows of Hate,” the Poverty Law Center’s documentary “The Children’s March,” and Family Network’s “We Shall Not Be Moved.” [Read more…]
The Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club will hear about the recent 50th anniversary observance of the Selma-to-Montgomery March at its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 23, at Shoney’s Restaurant at 204 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.
Heidi Brenner, who attended the Selma anniversary with about 20 members of the Oak Ridge United Universalist Church, will be the guest speaker. Other local organizations that sent members to Selma, Alabama, included Organizing for Action, the NAACP, and the Oak Ridge Sportsmen’s Club. [Read more…]
Daniel T. Brown
A Martin Luther King Fellowship Breakfast on Monday morning will feature Knoxville City Council member Daniel T. Brown.
It’s the 26th annual breakfast, and it’s sponsored by the Atomic City Sportsmen Club. The program starts at 8 a.m. Monday at the East Tennessee Family Services Building at 1660 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Brown is a Knoxville native and a graduate of Austin High School. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in history. He is a Vietnam veteran and received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, a press release said. Brown retired from the U.S. Postal Service. [Read more…]
John Hamilton, center, sings with Knoxville band Collizjion at a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge on Monday. Also pictured, from left, are Xzavian Wrushen, Taylor Warren, Mackcell Rodgers, and Brandon Anderson.
As millions of people across the country watched the inaugural ceremony for President Barack Obama, many others celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
Ceremonies in the past week to honor the slain civil rights leader included a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday at the Midtown Community Center.
It was sponsored by Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, and it included music, a brief presentation on King’s life and work, and remarks by Connie Martin, MMC vice president and chief support officer.
