The Garland Unit of NAACP, the city of Garland and the Garland ISD worked together to present the 32nd Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration Saturday, Jan. 16. This year’s MLK celebration was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but 
that didn’t dampen the spirit of the event. It was a great combination of entertainment, educational information and joy.
The parade wasn’t possible this year, but it has been one of the mainstays of this celebration for over 30 years. The number of entries started out at nine and last year had grown to 130.
Annie Dickson, the NAACP Garland Unit President and former Garland City Council Member kicked off the event with a welcome.
“There’s no way of stopping us continuing the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” she said.
Dickson also noted that King would be proud of the persistence with which this celebration was approached.
Michael Mitchell, the assistant pastor from the Pentecost Church of God in Christ, led the audience in prayer.
The entertainment, which contained a large youth presence, was wonderful. A’Necia Dixon sang the Negro National Anthem — “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” She was accompanied on piano by Lawrence Smith. Arii Darrick from Greenville Avenue Church of Christ also offered a song.
The Junior ROTC group from Rowlett High School presented the colors and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Jackson Webster Lusk-Reed read a Bible 
passage from Ecclesiastes. Kendal Sims read the “I Have a Dream” speech, which is actually called the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedoms.”
The Starfire MCDC danced to several well-chosen, moving songs and they were exquisite. The MLK Youth Choir, led by Reuben Lael Griffin, sang an enthusiastic rendition of “We Shall Overcome.”.
The audience was also treated to an interview with Evan Walker, the first Garland ISD student to be named a Rhodes scholar. Walker received the endorsement to apply for a Rhodes scholarship, went through the application process and interviews, and was notified in November that she had been selected.
“It’s awesome to represent Garland and my family and the academy and to study at Oxford,” the Lakeview Centennial High School 
graduate said.
Mayor Scott LeMay talked about hope.
“This year we will not be able to celebrate the life and message of Dr. King together, but we will always have his words to lead us forward,” LeMay said. “Dr. King said we must accept finite disappointments but never lose infinite hope.”
Dr. Rick Lopez, Garland ISD’s superintendent, said that King sought to bring us all together beca
use our differences are what makes our world a great place. He added that 2021 is a year of hope not only to end the suffering of COVID-19 but to bridge the divide felt in our nation.
Robert Selders, Garland ISD board of trustees president pointed out that “The things we share in common far exceed the things that make us different. We must all stand up and unite together despite our backgrounds, level of education, economic status and we must come together and fight to ensure all students in GISD will be successful.”
Paul Mayer, Garland’s Chamber of Commerce CEO, praised the NAACP for being the “unified force to bring the community together.”
Gwen Daniels, coordinator of MLK celebration said, “The question is, why celebrate? It’s because Dr. King was…was a major leader of the civil rights movement here in our country and his work literally changed not just this country but the entire world…His legacy lives on.”