Press Release
Jackson County NAACP Branch
All organizations and individuals performing service projects on January 19th are invited to a 3-5pm celebration of the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and Gratitude” at Sylva’s Bridge Park. The general public is also welcomed.
Both houses of Congress passed the bill establishing the MLK Holiday; President Reagan signed it into law in November, 1983; we first celebrated the holiday in 1986. US citizens now volunteer on the third Monday in January to honor Dr. King’s vision of service. Jackson County’s NAACP is culminating this year’s MLK Day of Service with a community-wide invitation to celebrate the historical sacrifices of the Civil Rights era and all January 19th volunteer participation. The festivity will include music, a brief message, and free chili, cornbread, and cider.
Everyone not already engaged in a MLK observance project is encouraged to participate with the local NAACP branch’s planned service projects:
1. a roadway cleanup between Catamount Gap and the University Entrance. Volunteers meet at the Cullowhee Post Office at 8 a.m on Monday, Jan.19.
2. collecting non-perishable goods for The Community Table and United Christian Ministries. Bring all collected food to the Bridge Park Celebration.The Jackson County Branch-54AB-B of the North Carolina NAACP officially commenced in May, 2014, becoming the county’s first local branch in the national NAACP’s hundred-year history. Currently Jackson County residents comprise the active membership—along with Macon and Swain County folks—until the latter counties organize a branch of their own. The Rev. Charles Lee, pastor of Sylva’s Liberty Baptist Church, is its first president.
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