Chilly weather caused the cancellation of many events around metro Atlanta, but the City of Sandy Springs’ 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday celebration went off as planned.
The Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center hosted the event, with the animated children’s educational film “Our Friend, Martin,” about King and the civil rights movement, shown in the Studio Theatre. Activities with themes tied to the holidays were offered in the lobby of the Byers Theatre.
“I think this event is important in a city like Sandy Springs at this time because it helps us to bring people together. And it helps us to all share in the hope and the dream that we have together, which is living together in a peaceful and wonderful and fair society,” said resident Adrienne Hughes, was at event with her husband, Langston, and their children.
Danelle Aleong drove from Sugar Hill in Gwinnett County to the event with her family.
“I think that this event was phenomenal. I’m extremely happy that it still went on,” Aleong said.
Sugar Hill had MLK Jr. Day activities planned but Aleong said because of the weather, many were canceled.
Before the first showing of “Our Friend, Martin,” Mayor Rusty Paul shared with more than 100 parents and their children that he grew up in rural Alabama just like former Rep. John Lewis, who died recently.
“We both grew up at a time when our country, and particularly the southern part of the country, was a much different place than it is today,” Paul said.
Paul said he’s learning from the recently released biography of Lewis that he’s reading more about how changes that were instigated largely by Lewis, King, Andrew Young, and many people of that generation took place.
The mayor witnessed more history from an Atlanta TV studio on the night that Barack Obama was elected president. He was in the room with Dr. Joseph Lowery, a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King and others, and King’s daughter, Bernice King, when the network called the election for Obama. He got to witness their reaction to that historic event.
“Today, particularly in this setting, we’re going to focus on Dr. King and his compatriots and the work they did to create an opportunity for all Americans,” Paul said.
Children participated in seven activities with themes tied to the holiday, such as the Dream station in which they listened to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and created a “Dream Cloud” craft. Other themes included Justice, Love, Liberty, Equality, Freedom, and, new this year, Community.
Volunteers from local high schools ran the activities.
