On Sunday, Jan. 19, Newton County held the 40th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance at Newton High School. 

Since 1985, Newton County has assembled an annual committee of local leaders who plan a ceremony honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy and impact in the community. The celebration is planned in coincidence with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is celebrated each year on the third Monday in January.

“For us to continue this for 40 years, that is generations of Newton County standing up to say, we choose love over hate,” said James Wilson, a member of the celebration committee. “And so on this day, that's what this is all about. It's all about choosing love over hate, choosing justice over evil, choosing unity over division.”

This year’s keynote speaker was Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Griggs is also the president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP and a co-founder of the Georgia Alliance for Social Justice.

Three awards were presented at the ceremony: the ‘I Have a Dream Award,’ the ‘Young Dreamer Award’ and the ‘Legacy Award.’

The ‘I Have a Dream Award’ is presented each year to someone who is a pillar and servant of the Newton County community. Other requirements include being a registered voter and being someone who has had a dream they worked to bring to reality in the spirit of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

This year, the I Have a Dream Award was presented to longtime Newton County resident Avis Williams. According to Wilson, Williams is known in the community for her service, particularly through her work with Oxford College of Emory University and the Oxford city council.

The Young Dreamer Award is an honor recognizing students in the school system who, both in the classroom and in regular day-to-day life, display a commitment to peace, love, justice and unity.

Three students were honored as Young Dreamers at this year’s ceremony: Adriana Anne Drain, Sani McKenzie Thomas and Karain Christmas.

The Legacy Award is a posthumous award that recognizes someone whose efforts in life deserve further recognition even after their passing. The award was created after the death of Almond Turner, who served Newton County as a school board member and the city of Covington as assistant police chief in his lifetime.

The 2025 recipient of the Legacy Award is Stoney Hamm, who passed in October 2024. Hamm was the first Black fire chief for the city of Covington.

According to Wilson, a former recipient of the Young Dreamer Award himself, the planning committee begins preparations for the celebration in November and then spends weeks of unpaid time and effort preparing the program. They then pick a keynote speaker, set up musical performances and open up nominations for the awards.

“This is really a labor of love, and it's something that the community should be proud of because it does take a lot of work,” Wilson said. “This is weeks and weeks of work that people are doing to come and really demonstrate how much they care about this legacy, how much they care about this work, how much they care about this community.”

Gail Slaton is chair of the committee, who Wilson says is phenomenal.

“Special recognition always has to go to her because this takes a lot of commitment on her part—a lot of financial commitment, a lot of mental and emotional commitment,” Wilson said.

Each year, the ceremony is packed with commemorative organizations and groups that take part in making the celebration special. This year, the Newton High School  Big Sound Factory and Anointed to Dance performed, as well as the MLK Interdenominational Choir and the Washington Street Children’s Choir. 

Numerous city and county officials attended the ceremony as well, including Newton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Marcello Banes, Covington Mayor Fleeta Baggett, Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown, Newton County Schools Superintendent Duke Bradley III and Oxford College of Emory University Dean Badia Ahad.

With this being the 40th year of the MLK Holiday Observance, the event has done nothing but grow. 

According to Wilson, every year brings new challenges and obstacles, but continuing to celebrate King’s legacy for four decades symbolizes a greater community commitment to his values and principles.

“The countywide commitment that we have, not only to honoring the life of a man, but really honoring the things that he stood for,” Wilson said. “The idea that all men are created equal, the idea that we should be judged not by what we look like, but by the content of our character.”