VSU Celebrates the Life, Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a march, community service, and more Monday, Jan. 20.

The Mu Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. will lead a march to commemorate King’s contributions to the Civil Rights movement and the progress the country achieved during that decades-long struggle. This event is open to the public.

The march will begin at 10 a.m. at the University Center fountain and end on the Student Union steps, where attendees will enjoy refreshments before moving into the Student Union Ballroom. VSU’s King celebration will continue at 10:30 a.m. with a program featuring Adrian Rivers, outreach representative for the Office of Senator Raphael Warnock, and Jayden Williams, former president of the Georgia Youth and College division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.   

Service opportunities will begin at 11 a.m. and include a blood drive with OneBlood and Be Red Cross Ready emergency preparedness training with the American Red Cross.  

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929, King became the iconic face of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1900s, dedicating his life to ending racial injustice in the United States until his assassination in 1968.

“King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest,” according to History.com. “He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.”

VSU’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration is presented by the Office of Campus Communities and Belonging, the NAACP, the Office of Career Opportunities and Volunteer Services, and the Mu Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.