MOULTRIE, Ga. — Moultrie churches and individuals will come together Thursday, April 26, in the first community-wide commemoration of the death of civil rights icon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Colquitt County Arts Center. It is free and open to the public.

“There had never been a moment like this one,” said Mary Braggs, one of the event coordinators, in a press release about the event. “For many, it seemed as if time stopped, everything stopped. And, every man and woman living at that time would be able to tell you where they were when word came that Dr. King had been assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.”

King was born January 15, 1929. His grandfather began the family’s long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. King served as co-pastor, and eventually became senior pastor from 1960 until his death. He graduated from a segregated public school at age 15; he received the B.A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College. In 1951 he was awarded the B.D. from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, a predominantly white school. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate school at Boston University, and he received the degree in 1955. While in Boston, he met and married Coretta Scott. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

“The significant qualities of this special man cannot be underestimated nor taken for granted,” Braggs said. “Within a span of 13 years from 1955 to his death in 1968, he was able to expound, expose and extricate America from many wrongs. His tactics of protest involved non-violet passive resistance to racial injustice.”  

King rose to fame when he came to the assistance of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama, a black seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus to a white passenger. In those days blacks were confined to the back of the bus. To break these laws would mean subjugation and humiliation by the police and the legal system.

“We honor Dr. King because he showed us the way to mend those broken fences and to move on in building this land rather destroying it,” Braggs said. “King wrote about his concerns and criticisms in many of his speeches on the pace of justice in civil rights for Black Americans. These thoughts were expressed in his moving ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ April 16, 1963; and he delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an estimated crowd of 250,000. Dr. King delivered his last speech, entitled “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” at the Mason Temple, the national headquarters of the Church of God In Christ, in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968.”

On April 4, 1968, King’s life was ended by an assassin’s bullet while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Thursday’s event will spill over with song, praise and spirited affirmations highlighting significant events led by King, Braggs said. “We will glance at Rosa Parks, The Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Selma Movement, The March on Washington, and The Memphis Crusade.”

Several churches will take part, as well as city leaders. One of the highlights will be performances by the Arts Center Choir, directed by Terry Turner. Turner is well known through the community and surrounding counties for his talents as a singer and musician. He will be assisted by Tonya Almond, an outstanding vocalist and choir director. The musicians are Lee Almond and Isaac Tatum. The choir is a combination of participants from various churches in the community.

Justin Lucas, Deacon Curtis Williams, Sheila Hill, Pevores Sumlin and Councilman Cornelius Ponder III will share the stage.  

A parade of male youth will be led by Marcus Anderson, Nazziare Thompson and Kamar Bell, Anterrianna Walker will read a poem, and Luke Strong IV will be the narrator of children’s poems with Caleb Mapp and  Sa’marian Loud.

The P.E.A.R.L.S., a young girls group from R.B. Wright Elementary School, directed by Belinda Everett will also perform.

King spent his final days in Memphis 50 years ago this month to support the 1,300 sanitation workers marching for better wages and working conditions.

“He knew that the foundation of the fight for equality has always been economic opportunity, and he gave his life for that cause,” Braggs said. “We remember Dr. King through our hearts as an advocate for social justice for all races, an activist, a writer, and an educator.  In addition to his gift of oration, he also was famous for his inspiring quotes such as ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that.’”

The event coordinators are Mary Braggs, Terry Turner, Tonya Almond, Pam Heidelberg, Stacey Davenport, and Belinda Everett.