Commemoration events this weekend

Staff Report

Organizers are hoping this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemoration Celebration celebrations will be one of the largest ever in Panola County.

The events will start today (Jan. 17) with a Commemoration Basketball Jamboree at 6 p.m. at the Batesville Junior High School gym. Dennis Hoskins will be the host.

On Saturday, Jan. 18, the committee will host a MLK Beauty Revue for girls ages 15-18 at the BJHS auditorium from 6 to 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 19, will be the annual Commemoration Musical scheduled for 6 p.m. at Mt. Zion M.B. Church in Sardis.

Monday, Jan. 20, will begin with a continental breakfast at Mt. Zion Baptist in Batesville at 9 a.m., followed by a prayer vigil hosted by the Sardis District Pastors and Ministers. All clergy and community leaders are invited to participate in this event.

At 10 a.m., all church groups, community groups, minority business representatives, and supporters will begin lining up for the 2020 March. The march will start at Mt. Zion and the corner of Panola Ave. and Hoskins Rd. and proceed south, then around the Downtown Square, and end at the Batesville Intermediate School auditorium.

The Commemoration Service at BIS will wrap-up the four days of activities. The principal speaker at the service following the march will be Dr. Batholomew Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven.

“We are inviting all city and county officials, ministers, civic groups, and individuals of all denominations and races to participate in this historical event,” said Dr. Zannie Leland, Jr., a chairperson for the committee.

Leland said all churches, groups, and businesses that plan to be represented during the march should prepare banners with the theme and year for display during the event.

The Panola County Commemoration Committee, along with the South Panola Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y Clubs, and the Sardis District Pastors and Ministers Division planned this year’s events.