Volunteering, said Dr. George E. Ross, carries on the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

If you go

Celebrations continue at 6 tonight with a memorial at Vicksburg Auditorium featuring the Rev. Dr. Archie R. Smith, pastor of St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Madison.

The president of Alcorn State University urged 200 people at the 20th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast to remember the slain civil rights leader, but memory without action is not enough.

“Volunteering today is a great way to give back and to set the tone for the next four years or eight years and beyond,” said Ross, referencing the beginning of the new administration under President-elect Barack Obama, who will be sworn in Tuesday. “Let today be a springboard to service in your everyday life.” 

While Obama’s impending inauguration makes this Martin Luther King Jr. Day “particularly special,” Ross emphasized there is still much more work to be done to fully realize King’s dream of racial equality in the United States.

“Today we stop and remember that we have reached some milestones, we have overcome some obstacles, but we have much more work to do,” Ross said, adding Obama’s accomplishments “are not the conclusion, but just the beginning.”

Sponsored by the Omicron Rho Lambda Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the scholarship breakfast featured Lewis Burke presiding, music by Darryl Peavy and the presentation of scholarships.

Warren Central High School student Lucious Kimble was the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship and Vicksburg High School students Daria Lawrence and Melane Smith were awarded $850 and $750 scholarships, respectively.

Vicksburg Junior High School students Casey Fisher, Christian Mobley, Araeuna Smith, D’Andre Strong and Austin Terrell were all awarded $100 scholarships.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.