NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Several events have been planned around the mid-state to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.
In Nashville, the annual Martin Luther King Day March will begin at 11 a.m. at Jefferson Street Baptist Church.
It will end at TSU's Gentry Center, where a convocation is planned at noon. Dr. Steve Perry, CNN education contributor and author, will be the featured speaker. Governor Bill Haslam, Mayor Karl Dean, and other dignitaries are expected to attend.
The Nashville Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March and Convocation has become one of the largest events in the nation.
Several streets will close in advance of the march at 8 a.m. including Jefferson Street between 11th and 28th Avenues North. There will be no access to Jefferson Street from I-40 East beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Participants will arrive at the Jefferson Street Baptist Church at 2708 Jefferson Street from satellite locations around the city.
Another event will be the 11th annual Fellowship Breakfast of Bone McAllester Norton at 7:30 a.m. at the Hutton Hotel. The features speaker is the Reverend Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr.
Bone McAllester Norton hosts the Fellowship Breakfast each year to celebrate the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to provide an opportunity for attendees to reflect upon Dr. King's life and work.
Also in Nashville, Mayor Karl Dean and U.S. Senator Bob Corker will greet volunteers at 10 a.m. on Monday during a painting project at Nashville Fire Department Station No. 19 to commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service. It is part of a three-day community service event coordinated by the Mayor's Impact Nashville initiative, Hands On Nashville and the Nashville Fire Department.
Oasis Youth Action programs will hold a rally at Kean Hall at Tennessee State University from 2 to 4 p.m. called "25 years of dreaming....WAKE UP, STAND UP, SPEAK UP!!!"
Civil rights legend U.S. Congressman John Lewis will deliver the keynote address at a 6:30 p.m. at a Vanderbilt University event commemorating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
At Belmont, they will host a MLK tribute at the Curb Event Center Arena at 7 p.m. during halftime of the men's basketball game against Florida Gulf Coast University.
A parade hosted by the Black History Association of Robertson County will be held at 8 a.m. starting at Covenant Confirmers Church on 10th Avenue East in Springfield and ending at the Center. There will be a program giving children a chance to speak following.
In Maury County, they will hold their MLK, Jr. Day Annual Walk for Freedom at 9 a.m. It starts at the
Maury County Courthouse and goes to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church at 291 Wayne St.
Marshall County will host its first annual Martin Luther King March in Lewisburg at 1 p.m. The march will begin at Lewisburg Lanes and end at the Marshall County courthouse on the square.
In Rutherford County, a free program will be held at 1 p.m. at the Patterson Park Community Center in the Adult Gym located at 521 Mercury Boulevard.
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