Events Celebrate Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Several events celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and are planned for this week.

Governor Nikki Haley has declared Monday January 21 a Day of Service in Dr. King's honor.

The congregations of two Pickens churches will join together Monday, January 21 for a Unity Walk and celebration of Dr. King's life and work.

The event will begin at 9am with a breakfast at Pickens Presbyterian Church.

The congregation of that church, Griffin Ebenezer Baptist Church and community members will then talk from Pickens Presbyterian to the Pickens County Courthouse for the celebration, which begins at 10am.

The event will feature music from the combined choirs of the two churches, speeches, a devotional, and then a reading of Dr. King's famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Following the event at the Courthouse, a luncheon will be held at Griffin Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Clemson University is celebrating King's legacy with a number of events.

Students, faculty and staff will use the holiday off Monday, Jan. 21, as a day to help others during the annual MLK Day of Service from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers spend the morning working with agencies throughout the community, including Clemson Child Development Center, the Animal Rescue Fund, Collins Children’s Home, Our Daily Bread and Sterling House.

As part of the Day of Service, the Blood Connection will hold a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Hendrix Student Center meeting rooms.

The celebration continues with the 31^st annual MLK Commemorative Service at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, at Tillman Hall auditorium. The service will feature Hilliard, a founding member and former chief of staff of the Black Panther Party.

Hilliard is author of the book “This Side of Glory,” a personal narrative and eyewitness account of the Black Panthers. He also co-authored “Huey, Spirit of the Panther,” the first authorized biography about Black Panther founder and leader Huey P. Newton.

By the early 1970s, the Black Panthers were a nationwide and global organization providing free food, medicine and legal services to the inner city poor. The Panthers, once labeled, "the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States" by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, began to dissolve as police raids, gun battles, IRS investigations, trials and prison terms decimated their ranks.

Since 1993, Hilliard has directed the activities of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, a grassroots community-based nonprofit organization committed to preserving and fostering Newton's intellectual legacy. The foundation has collected Newton's writings, covering the “Huey P. Newton Reader” and his early work, “To Die for the People,” in addition to reissuing Newton's autobiography, “Revolutionary Suicide.”

Now an internationally recognized authority on Newton and the Black Panther Party, Hilliard taught at Merritt College, Laney College, New College and the University of New Mexico. He lectures frequently throughout the United States and was an adviser on the feature film "Panther" and on the Spike Lee-produced film "A Huey P. Newton Story."

Students can learn first-hand the effects of discrimination and racism through a special event of Clemson later this week.

The Tunnel of Oppression will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, on the second floor of the Hendrix Student Center. The Tunnel of Oppression simulates different forms of oppression and discrimination as participants walk trough the tunnel. Counselors will be on hand to discuss the experience with participants afterward.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.clemson.edu/mlk.