By TYLER STOCKS

Washington Daily News

 

To honor the legacy of one of history’s most prominent civil-rights leader, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., community leaders and others will meet at Mt. Hebron Disciple Church, 210 W. SixthSt., Washington, at 5 p.m. Sunday for the annual service paying homage to King.

This year’s theme is “Making the Dream a Reality of His Legacy.”

The event’s guest speaker is the Rev. Silas Norman. Also, there will be performances by local musicians and area youth. One group from Chocowinity is doing a performance titled “I Have a Dream.” Musicians include Gruver Burrus and Cedric Whitfield. Members of the Mt. Hebron Praise Team will also perform.

Sunday’s event marks the 25^th anniversary for Mt. Hebron Disciple Church. After the speech and performance by the youth, a candlelight vigil will be held followed by a reception.

Florence Lodge, a 35-year member and elder at the church, said that the event is for the community and having something special like this to honor King means everything to her.

“This is something for the community. We have come from a long way. He left a lot of legacy; not just white and black, but all people. We haven’t got there, but we’ve come along way,” said Lodge.

She continued: “Dr. King was a nonviolent person. He believed in equal rights. I looked up to him. He would be very proud to see how we can get jobs, and schools are integrated. All of the little black and white girls and boys can come together. We do know that the legacy left for us, he wanted us all to live together and have a better world

“He wanted us all to live together. We’ve got better jobs, different state jobs. There could still be some still improvement. He was a great man, an honorary man, a Nobel Prize winner. He went everywhere working with other nations. He died but did not want us to be violent. He wanted unity and us to be peaceful together.”

For more information about the event, contact Carolyn Cooper at 252-946-3455.