Blauvelt
The Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration Committee of St. Johns County hosted its 34th annual commemorative breakfast honoring the civil rights leader on Monday.
Held at the Mark W. Lance National Guard Armory in downtown St. Augustine, the Jan. 21 event featured a breakfast gathering, music and a keynote address by Dr. Chester Wilson.
“I definitely feel honored to be in a place where Dr. Martin Luther King marched,” Wilson told the Recorder before the event began. “To be able to speak today is an honor to share with the guests in this room a message that is relevant and timely today.”
A Daytona Beach resident with 20 years of experience as an administrator in behavioral health and as a college professor, Wilson reflected on where society is today, some 50 years after King’s death, as it concerns social change and social justice. In conjunction, Wilson tied in a discussion on mental health, especially the stigma of mental health in African-American communities.
Attendees of the event included all five St. Johns County commissioners, St. Johns County School District Superintendent Tim Forson and other district officials, State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson, St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver and many others.
Following the breakfast, several dozens of people participated in a march that started on Martin Luther King Avenue and concluded at the Plaza de la Constitucion. Participants of the march proudly sang “We Shall Not Be Moved” from start to finish. A program was subsequently held at the Plaza that included more music and remarks.
