WS Chronicle

This year in Winston-Salem, many events commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be on Monday, Jan. 15, his 89th birthday and the actual holiday, which is the third Monday in January.

The Chronicle and the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity are sponsoring the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Prayer Breakfast, which is now booked to capacity. Thanks to all who got tickets, The Chronicle says. Keynote speaker will be James A. Beaty Jr., senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

Since 1981, an observance has been held annually at noon to commemorate King’s birthday. The 38th annual MLK Noon Hour Commemoration will be held at Union Baptist Church, 1200 Trade St. NW. The program will conclude by 2 p.m. An offering will be lifted.

The keynote speaker is civil rights leader Dr. Gerald L. Durley of Atlanta.  Former Winston-Salem council woman and mayor, Martha Wood, and community activist, educator and school board member Victor Johnson will receive the MLK “Dare to Make a Difference” Award in recognition of their efforts for civil and human rights.  A special recognition is planned for former alderwoman of 16 years, Dr. Virginia K. Newell, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. She will be the oldest living recipient of the MLK award.   

A special litany of commemoration and inspirational music by the Big Four Choir will round out the program.  As a community service project, the Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. in collaboration with the MLK Noon Hour Commemoration Committee, will provide a meal of soup, bread, dessert and drink and will “serve” the attendees, including invited homeless individuals from the Bethesda Center, Samaritan Ministries and other homeless shelters, after the program.   

Contact Mütter D. Evans, the founding organizer of MLK Noon Hour Commemoration Committee at (336) 971-7852, muttermde@aol.com for additional information.

At 7 p.m., the Ministers’ Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity (MCWSV) will hold a scholarship fundraising service at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2400 Dellabrook Road, where Rev. Donald Jenkins is senior pastor. Guest speaker will be Pastor Tembila Covington, MCWSV 1st vice president. For information, contact Bishop Todd Fulton, MCWSV Social Justice Committee chairman, at (336) 422-6066.

Other events

*The North Carolina Black Repertory Company will host the 33rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at the Arts Council Theatre on Monday, Jan. 15. The event, which is free with the donation of a non-perishable food item, is set to begin at 3 p.m. All non-perishable food items will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C. For more information call (336) 723-2266.

*The Odd Fellows Cemetery along with community partners – Pan Hellenic Council, Harden and Janet Wheeler, local churches, colleges, and civic groups – will host Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at 2881 Shorefair Drive. The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact James Clyburn at (336) 723-6452.