Life and legacy: Tupelo to celebrate MLK with four-day event

Jan. 12—TUPELO — It's been nearly 55 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., yet the civil rights leader's influence is just as powerful today as it was decades ago.

Tupelo-based Committee for King will kick off four days of programming commemorating King's life and legacy beginning Friday, Jan. 13, and continuing through the federal holiday on Monday, Jan. 16.

Friday night will see the return of the event's annual Apollo Night Youth Talent show. This free event celebrates the skills of some of the area's most talented young performers. Over the course of the evening, multiple local church groups will share their talents with the community. The event will close with an awards ceremony and refreshments.

The show will kick off at 6 p.m. inside the Tupelo Civic Auditorium.

The show will be broken into two parts, each highlighting different young, talented individuals. Jimmy Adams and the Adrian Jones Band will serve as the opening act for Part I, with Bridgette Shelly and Candice Knowles acting as masters of ceremony. Part II will feature Stephanie Stubbs and "The Young and Talented of North Mississippi" as the opening act, with Karla Garret and Deundra Poole serving as masters of ceremony for this second part of the evening.

On Saturday, Committee for King will host its annual awards banquet. Set to start at 6:30 p.m. in the West Hall of the Cadence Bank Conference Center, the event will recognize the good works of some of Northeast Mississippi's most community-minded individuals and groups.

This year's honorees include Tammie Nichols of Starkville, who will be given the Image Award; Family Resource Center's Beds for Kids program, which will be presented with the Community Service Award; and Robert Hall, who will receive this year's Drum Major Award.

Dr. Alexandria White of Oxford will serve as the evening's guest speaker.

Tickets for the event are $35 and include dinner. Attire for the evening is dressy casual.

For more information on the awards banquet, contact Lola McKinney at 662-422-6387.

The heart of the weekend's celebration falls on Sunday, when the Committee for King will host the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Service at the Tupelo Civic Auditorium. This annual celebration of King's lasting impact is open to the public.

Area drill teams will kick off the program at 2:30 p.m., followed by a performance by the MLK Community Choir. After that, select area college-aged and high school-aged youth will take part in a lively discussion on the value of and need for communities to listen to their younger members, with select area college-aged and high school-aged youth taking part. University of Mississippi Visiting Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications Graham Bodie and Alluvial Collective Executive Director Von Gordon will lead the discussion.

A reception with food and drink inside the Tupelo Middl, helde School cafeteria. During the reception, , will follow the eventarea nonprofits that the Committee for King say "reflect Dr. King's vision in their work" will be on-hand to speak with attendees one-on-one.

Finally, on Monday, Jan. 16, the Committee for King's annual partner organization, The Modern Beauticians, will co-host a motorcade and worship service in King's honor.

The motorcade will begin at 11 a.m. at Reed's Manufacturing on South Veterans Boulevard and end at St. Paul's Methodist Church on Front Street. Inside the church, a worship service will kick off at noon.

To wrap up the weekend, the Committee for King will present several scholarships to area students.

For more information on any of these events, visit http://www.committeeforking.org.