2nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration
January 6, 2020
Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Associate Professor of History and is the Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, will be the keynote speaker at the City of Columbia’s 32nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Monday, January 20, 2020, the City of Columbia and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation announced.
Professor Donaldson’s teaching and scholarship examine southern history and African American life and culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Presently, he serves as the lead scholar and director for the Columbia SC 63, a documentary project that examines the struggle for civil rights and social justice in Columbia and around the state of South Carolina.
“History is a constant reminder of our collective journeys. The year 1963 marked a dramatic crossroads in our city’s history, and the lessons and stories from that period are powerful reminders of the courageous decisions and incredible sacrifices that brought us to where we are. And still, they remind us of the work that remains and our own roles in transforming the world around us,” Dr. Bobby Donaldson said.
The annual celebration will begin at 4 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Community Center, 2300 Greene Street. A Wreath Laying Ceremony commemorating the historic marker honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held at 3 p.m. at the corner of Harden and Greene streets on Monday, January 20. Members of the Alpha Psi Lambda and Omicron Iota Lambda chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. will lead the ceremony.
