MLK Day events Friday, Saturday in Athens

The Martin Luther King Jr Holiday is Monday: an Athens MLK celebration is set for 6 o’clock this evening at Lay Park on Hoyt Street in Athens. And an MLK art exhibit will be on display 11 til 3 Saturday at the Lyndon House Arts Center, also on Hoyt Street.

He was a Clarke County Superior Court Judge: Steve Jones(pictured above), now a federal judge in Atlanta, is the featured speaker at this morning’s Martin Luther King Junior Freedom Breakfast: it’s underway at 8 o’clock at the University of Georgia’s Tate Student Center.

From Lauren Leathers, UGA College of Education…

Two students in the College of Education’s department of kinesiology are recipients of the 2020 President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award and will be recognized at the 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast on Jan. 17, 2020.

Beginning in 2004, the award is granted to individuals at the University of Georgia and the Athens-Clarke county community who strive to further Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of equality and inclusion. Marques R. Dexter, a sports management Ph.D. candidate, will receive the graduate award and Caleb Kelly, a third-year sports management student, will receive the undergraduate award. Dexter and Kelly were nominated for the award by UGA faculty and staff for significant efforts in creating a culture of unity and understanding.

“Receiving this award is a testament to the legacy of so many change agents who have come before me—they have inspired me to utilize my platform and voice to ensure that the world I leave behind is better than the world which I was born into,” Dexter said.

Dexter is the program coordinator of the Office of Institutional Diversity, where he also has an assistantship. Additionally, he is a COE student ambassador, a member of the Black Male Leadership Society student organization, serves as an advisor to GAAME ambassadors, and is a four-year member of the COE’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion conference planning committee.

Kelly is an ambassador for the Georgia African American Male Experience (GAAME), where he facilitates a full cycle minority recruitment process to help increase the enrollment and support of black men at UGA. He is also a member of the UGA Visitors Center, served as a UGA orientation leader and Dawg Camp counselor, and is a student ambassador at the College of Education.

“This award means everything to me. My life's passion has always been to serve and uplift others. To be recognized for this award in Dr. King's honor is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Kelly said.