From Spring Garden Missionary Baptist Church to Beaufort County Community Colleges, events honoring the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were held throughout the community Monday.

The event at BCCC featured keynote speaker Pastor Russell Wilkins, senior minister of St. John Church of Christ, and music from the St. John Church of Christ Ensemble. The event later at Spring Garden was hosted by Jeptha Chapter No.1 of the Order of the Eastern Star, featuring keynote speaker Rev. John K. Ponds, of Oakey Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Trenton.

“Dr. King was a model of steadfastness in the midst of a broken-hearted world,” said Pastor Wilkins during his keynote speech. “He had a heart for broken people. The disparity between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen, so Dr. King would urge us today to meet the social needs of our community no matter where we may venture in life, no matter how high we may rise on the economic ladder, no matter how high we ascend on the educational ladder.”

Along with the college, this year’s event at BCCC was sponsored by Rev. Dr. Robert and Mrs. Debra Rose Cayton, B.E. Singleton & Sons, Inc., Cornerstone Family Worship Center, St. John Church of Christ-Disciples of Christ, Trinity Episcopal Church, Asbury United Methodist Church, Mrs. Betty Randolph and Professional Tax Service.