UPCOMING: MLK Day Celebration in Hartsville

Tomorrow, Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 3:00 p.m., People to People of Hartsville, SC, will present its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration at the Butler Community Center, 1103 S. 6th St. in Hartsville.

This year the commemoration will include a screening of Eugene Washington's documentary Freedom Ain't Free, which examines the stories of several under-recognized civil rights heroes, including South Carolinians George Elmore and Rev. J. A. De Laine and Detroit housewife Viola Luizzo.

Following the screening will be a panel discussion including the filmaker; Columbia physician Dr. Burnett Gallman; Darlington County First Steps to School Readiness executive director Ms. Darnell McPherson; Mr. Jabari Clyburn, a student at the University of South Carolina; and myself.

Dr. Mal Hyman of Coker College, Hartsville, will serve as master of ceremonies, and former state senator Ms. Maggie Wallace Glover of Florence will facilitate the panel discussion.

If you're nearby, please consider attending what promises to be an enriching program. And either way, I hope you take special time for service and strenghtening the bonds of community this weekend!