In honor of what would have been his 91st birthday, communities throughout the nation are honoring the legacy of civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Across Northwest Florida, there are a number of celebrations, culminating on Monday, the official observance of Dr. King’s birthday.
Update: Monday, Jan. 20
Pensacola
The theme for the 2020 Commemorative Celebration in Pensacola is “In Unity, There is Strength.”
The annual MLK Prayer Breakfast, presented by the Commemorative Celebration Commission of Pensacola, will be held 8 a.m. Saturday at the Wright Place, 80 W Wright St.
A Gospel Program is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Greater Union Baptist Church, 1300 N Guillemard Street.
The 33rd annual MLK Parade is set for Monday morning at 11 a.m. in downtown Pensacola. Grand Marshal for this year’s parade is Georgia Blackmon, community leader and former owner and operator of the Gathering and Awareness Book Center. For more information, visit gcmcc.info, or call 850-377-1898 or 850-378-9242.
Milton
The Fellowship of Churches of Santa Rosa County has organized a number of events to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy.
The schedule of events include:
The annual MLK Prayer Breakfast in Milton is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 18 at the Santa Rosa County auditorium, 4530 Spikes Way. The cost is $10 per ticket. Breakfast, singing and entertainment provided. The guest speaker is Rev. Vincent Dortch, from Atlanta Georgia. Contact Rev. Murray Hamilton at 850-736-1976 or murrayhamilton55@att.net for details.
The 2020 MLK Commemorative Program will be held Sunday, Jan. 19, 6 p.m., at the historic Mt. Pilgrim African Baptist Church, 5103 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The event will include the crowning of the 2020 MLK king and queen. The guest speaker is Elder Fredrick Smithy Sr. Contact person is Carolyn McCray and she can be reached at 850-656-1629, or Rev. Michael Thomas 850-208-5111 for details.
The annual MLK Day Parade in Santa Rosa will begin at 10 a.m. at Milton High School. The parade procession will travel south on Stewart Street to Elva Street.
Fort Walton Beach
Join United Universal Fellowship of the Emerald Coast (UUFEC) for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade in Fort Walton Beach. It will begin at 9:15 a.m. at the Fort Walton Beach Civic Auditorium, 107 US Hwy 98.
Crestview
The 2020 Martin Luther King, Jr. Walk and Ceremony will be held Saturday, Jan. 18, 9 a.m. in Crestview. The walk is sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of Crestview and is a program of the Mayor’s Cultural Series. It’s one of the first events held under the city’s new motto for 2020, “A Community Coming Together.”
The procession will start at Garden Park at the corner of Main Street and Ferdon Boulevard, and will head north on Main St. to the Okaloosa County Veterans Memorial at Courthouse Terrace.
Baldwin County (Bay Minette)
The 34th Annual MLK Memorial March will begin Monday, January 20,2020 at 10:00 A.M. starting at Kid Park, 303 McMillian Avenue in Bay Minette, AL and proceed to the John F. Rhodes Civic Center for an after march program. The Keynote speaker will be State Rep. Sam Jones, who formerly served as Mobile County Commissioner and Mayor of Mobile, the city’s first black mayor.
After the program, participants will have a kid’s fun zone at Kid Park, 303 McMillian Ave., Bay Minette, AL until 4:00 P.M.
