Paris, Tenn.–Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be observed with all-day activities and events in Henry County on Monday, January 17.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2022 will be a county-wide celebration, according to organizers “Need to Feed & Travis Ministers” and Brother Andre Richardson of Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
“Need to Feed & Travis Ministers” are sponsoring activities that will be held in the morning at the Central Community Building at 55 Jones Bend Rd., while Brother Richardson will be sponsoring the evening’s activities which include honoring past Drum Major for Justice Award winners and presentation of this year’s Drum Major for Justice Award.
Monday’s activities begin at 9 a.m. with a community breakfast at the Central Community Building. Simone Travis said this year, “We honor historically black colleges and African-American fraternities and sororities” with Keynote Speaker Laura Ferguson, who will speak on how historically black colleges and African-American fraternities and sororities produced individuals who made positive impact on American history; and Gloria Bouknight will speak about “The Divine Nine” fraternities and sororities.
At 11 a.m., the Paris Heat and the Paris Patriots will take the basketball court at the Central Building for an All-Star basketball game.
In the evening, Henry County Circuit Court Judge Donald Parish will be the guest speaker for the MLK Day program at Mt. Zion Church at 6 p.m. The presentation of the Drum Major for Justice Award also will be held and past winners of the award will be recognized.
On Saturday, January 15, a pre-MLK Day Watch Party will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the W.G. Rhea Library with a showing of “Pushout—The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools”. Refreshments will be served.