Submitted photo The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is shown in front of a large crowd in the 1960s.
A frequent corporate, ministry and social justice visiting speaker and workshop leader will work with and deliver messages to children, youth, church members and the community at large Saturday through Monday in connection with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. events in Columbus.
The local African American Pastors Alliance, the Heritage Fund, The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, the African American Fund of Bartholomew County and others are supporting the outreach of consultant and Rev. Kendall C. Wright. Besides leading training sessions for corporations such as Cummins Inc., Wright has facilitated more than 5,000 workshops, seminars and presentations across the continental U.S., Canada, the UK, Japan, China, India, Korea, Singapore, and Puerto Rico,” according to his biographical information.
Wright last spoke with multiple audiences locally in 2016 about the importance of harmonious race relations. That visit included a youth audience.
“And it seemed like those youth were pretty engaged then in a way that was notable,” said Bishop David Bosley, one of the organizers of the current visit.
Tracy Souza, president and chief executive officer of the Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, applauds the organizers’ work on programs designed to build awareness of King’s legacy of working for equality of all people across racial, socioeconomic lines and more during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
He was assassinated April 4, 1968, while in Memphis, Tennessee, to speak on behalf of mistreated and striking sanitation workers, most of whom were Black.
The local pastors alliance has organized the King day breakfast for a number of years. But this year’s programs include a children’s and youth workshop and panel discussion Saturday at Columbus East High School, a church leadership gathering Saturday at Dayspring Apostolic Church of God Saturday, Sunday morning worship with Wright at Dayspring, Sunday afternoon worship service at Calvary Community Church and the King day breakfast Monday at The Commons in downtown Columbus.
The pastors have put together a terrific program,” Souza said. “And with Kendall Wright’s participation, this year’s MLK celebration should be extra special.”
Bosley mentioned that Wright’s experience has given him the background to kn0w how to engage audiences worldwide on a variety of topics, sensitive and otherwise.
“He has delivered speeches on a world stage, understands diversity, and is familiar with our community,” Bosley said.
His previous trips to Columbus have included speaking engagements at Bosley’s Dayspring church. Plus, the religious leader mentioned that the pastors alliance received substantial positive feedback from residents after he spoke several times here in 2016 on the topic “Perfecting Race Relations.”
They really appreciated his take on things,” Bosley said.
Martin Luther King events
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday is Monday. But related events are unfolding on several different days locally.
- 10 a.m. to noon Saturday: Children and youth workshop and panel discussion at cafeteria at Columbus East High School, 230 S. Marr Road in Columbus.
- 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday: Church leadership gathering at Dayspring Church of God Apostolic, 2127 Doctor’s Park Drive in Columbus.
- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday: Worship service at Dayspring with the Rev. Kendall C. Wright speaking.
- 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday: Worship service with Wright at Calvary Community Church, 1031 Chestnut St., in Columbus.
- 7:30 a.m. Monday: King Day annual free breakfast with Wright speaking at The Commons, 300 Washington St. in Columbus.
- 7 p.m. Jan. 28: The Columbus/Bartholomew County Area Chapter of the NAACP’s Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance and Awards Gala, Mill Race Center, 900 Lindsey St. in Columbus.
