The weekend celebration of slain Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Rome will still be held this year, it will just take place virtually.
Alvin Jackson, a member of the MLK Commission of Rome and Northwest Georgia, indicates that adjustments are needed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Activities will include a Family Prayer Breakfast at 9 am on Saturday. Pastor Steve Caldwell will provide a message via Facebook live on the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church of Rome, Inc. page. An ecumenical service is set for Sunday evening at 5 pm. Pastor Bernard Young will deliver that message on Thankful Baptist Church’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
There will not be a Freedom March or program at the Rome City Auditorium on MLK Day in ’21; however, a drive-thru lunch will be provided from 11 am to 1 pm (or until all lunches are given out) at the Rome Civic Center.
Unlike in years past, the weekend celebration will not commence with a play at the City Auditorium on Friday night.
Rome’s MLK weekend celebration has been held annually since 1986 and is one of the largest such celebrations in Georgia. It is important to keep King’s legacy of love alive, asserts Jackson, particularly in turbulent times like those in which we now live.
For more information about the celebration, call Jackson at (706) 346-7202 or Sundai Stevenson at (706) 346-7524.