FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- For Fort Jackson, the national holiday honoring prominent civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. is a time to reflect on the principles of racial equality and non-violent social change he championed. The post will honor these values Jan. 25 with a special ceremony beginning at 11:30 at the Solomon Center.
This year's event will feature writing and art competition entries by students of C.C Pinckney Elementary School. Students were asked to answer the question "What Does Martin Luther King Jr. Day Mean to Me?"
The event's organizer, the 193rd Infantry Brigade Equal Opportunity Office, has received 100 essays from students. The winners will be announced at the event, said Sgt. 1st Class Yolanda Brown, 193rd equal opportunity adviser. The first-place winners will receive their awards at the event, and secondand third-place winners will be recognized in a separate event.
The event is intended to "enhance public awareness and education among all Soldiers, civilian employees and their families, of the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and further promote understanding, acceptance and harmony among all groups," Brown said.
Brig. Gen. Barrye L. Price, Human Resources Policy Directorate Army G-1, is scheduled to be the event's guest speaker. Price is a 1985 Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Houston's College of Business Administration. He earned a Master of Arts Degree in History in 1994 from Texas A&M University and in 1997 he became the first African-American to obtain a doctorate from the Department of History in the 136-year history of Texas A&M University.
Price served on the President and First Lady's Task Force on "Raising Responsible and Resourceful Teenagers" in 2000; served on President Clinton's "Mississippi Delta Task Force," which sought to revitalize the 207-county, seven-state region that comprises the Mississippi River flood plain from 1999 through 2000; and he is the author of the 2001 volume, "Against All Enemies Foreign and Domestic: A Study of Urban Unrest and Federal Intervention Within the United States."
The Lower Richland High School Choir will also perform at the event.
Tickets are $8 and can be purchased from the Equal Opportunity Office, brigade equal opportunity advisers and unit equal opportunity representatives.
Social Sharing