Community Corner

Celebrate the Life and Dream of Dr. King

See what's going on around the area in honor of the civil rights leader.

Here are upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16) events and closures. If we missed your event or closure, please post it in the comment box below or email it to Smyrna@patch.com.

More than 200 Lovett School students, faculty, including headmaster Billy Peebles, and parents of Lovett and Breakthrough Atlanta communities will show their MLK support by participating in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. March and Rally. Many of the students will meet at the school first, where they will be a part of an inspiring tribute to Dr. King’s legacy at noon.

Those who meet at Lovett, will travel by bus downtown to a specified meeting location. Other Lovett supporters will meet the group downtown so they can all march together.  

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Lovett has been participating in the MLK March and Rally for 12 years now and is the only independent school in Atlanta to be involved in this event. For more information, see here

Celebrate: the Life, the Dream, the Legacy

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  • What: The 26th annual celebration will include performances by locals and the presentation of the Living the Dream award to someone who demonstrates King's ideals. The event is free.
  • When: Monday, Jan. 16 at 10 a.m.
  • Where: Jennie T. Anderson Theatre,

Martin Luther King Jr. Story Time

  • What: Celebrate his life through books, songs and music. The event is free.
  • When: Friday, Jan. 13 from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
  • Where:

Tavis Smiley Presents: MLK, A Call to Conscience

  • What: The hour-long documentary delves into one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s greatest speeches, "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence," delivered on April 4, 1967. Today this speech is acknowledged to be one of the most powerful written by King, and Smiley deconstructs the meaning of the speech and puts it in contemporary context, particularly in light of our nation’s current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event is free.
  • When: Saturday, Jan. 14 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
  • Where:

Family Film: Ruby Bridges

  • What: In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and the Civil Rights Movement, the 90-minute film Ruby Bridges will be shown. When bright 6-year-old Ruby is chosen to be the first African-American to integrate her local New Orleans elementary school, she is subjected to the true ugliness of racism for the very first time. The event is free.
  • When: Saturday, Jan. 14 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
  • Where:

  • What: This event features speakers, performers and health screenings are featured. Count Me In, Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, the Austell Community Taskforce and the Keystone Teens have partnered to present this dynamic MLK Day event. Volunteers are still needed. Please call (770) 819-3240 for volunteering details.
  • When: Monday, Jan. 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Where:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Story Time

  • What: Children will celebrate his birthday by reading books about his life and important historical events. The event is free.
  • When: Thursday, Jan. 19 from 3:30 to 4 p.m.
  • Where: Stratton Library

Closures on Monday:

  • Cobb County government offices, schools and libraries

administrative offices will be closed, too, but public safety will remain operational. The holiday sanitation/recycling schedule next week will be as follows:

  • Monday routes picked up Tuesday.
  • Tuesday routes picked up Wednesday.
  • Thursday and Friday routes unchanged. 
  • No Yard Waste collection during weeks on the holiday schedule.

Hands on Atlanta is seeking to sign up 3,000 volunteers for more than 50 projects on the organization's 17th annual Day of Service on Monday. The volunteers will give more than 10,000 hous of service, the organization said in an announcement. Volunteers can sign up at here

In Smyrna, volunteers will be at , where they will create arts and crafts items for parents, teachers and community leaders, paint bathrooms and create murals on cafeteria banners.

This year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service marks the inauguration of the organization's Civic Leadership Program, "a grant competition designed to equip civic leaders to create and execute innovative, ongoing and volunteer-driven initiatives to alleviate local poverty," the organization said.


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