On Sunday Jan. 26, the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration was held at the USC Aiken’s Convocation Center.
The celebration began at 3 p.m. with the Aiken Concert Choir singing a jazz arrangement of “This Little Light of Mine.” News anchor Monique Williams of WRDW News 12 began the ceremony by introducing Rev. Dr. James Abraham to give the invocation.
Dr. Daren Timmons welcomed everyone to the Convocation Center with a brief speech.
The attendees were asked to stand and join the Aiken Concert Choir in singing, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The audience was full of spirit, showing the deep bond of the community.
After the choir’s first piece, the presentation of awards began with the Essay/Poster Contest and then the Human and Civil Rights Awards. The winners are as follows:
Poster Contest Winners: Ashanti Head, Ethan Jolley, Britton Breazeale and Kennedi Kitchings
Essay Contest Winners: Brenda Garrett, Sofia Romero, Mya Holston, Kimberly E. Morris, Kamora Johnson and Anna Ewers
Human & Civil Rights Student Champion Award Recipients: Dalton Anderson (USCA), Brandon Rivera (ATC)
With the Bethlehem Baptist Church Choir of Graniteville, S.C., the audience was smiling, standing, dancing, clapping and singing along with the performance.
Following the church choir, the keynote speaker, Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Ph.D., was introduced.
Dr. Donaldson works as an Associate Professor of History, as well as the Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at USC Columbia.
Dr. Donaldson is included in multiple organizations such as; the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the Organization of American Historians, the South Caroliniana Society, NAACP, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and many others.
One takeaway from Dr. Donaldson’s speech was his expansion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”.
Dr. Donaldson expanded on this, saying that a good man or woman will risk anything and everything to help others.
What I take from this is that no matter what the cost, helping others is the most important.
This is an annual event, and I highly recommend all to attend. The atmosphere is welcoming and warm and the community involvement is an amazing sight to see.
