The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Williamsburg in June 1962, and nearly 55 years later his legacy and dreams will be revisited at First Baptist Church.
Historians, educators and community and religious leaders will gather at the church June 6 with the Virginia Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, according to a commission press release.
The gathering is part of a series called the Beloved Community Conversations, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination. The Williamsburg conversation runs from 6 to 8 p.m.
A panel will discuss the time King spent in Virginia, his vision for a “beloved community” that he saw for the commonwealth and steps that can be taken to attain his vision.
The gathering is free and open to the public.
State Sen. Monty Mason will provide opening remarks to guests and commission Chairwoman Jennifer McClellan will moderate a panel composed of:
- The Rev. Reginald Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church
- The Rev. Christopher Epperson, rector of Bruton Parish
- Lafayette Jones of the James City County Historical Society
- Brian Smalls, president of the York-James City-Williamsburg branch of the NAACP
- Robert Vinson, associate professor of history and Africana studies at William & Mary
- Jody L. Allen, the Lemon Project
Twelve community conversations will be held across Virginia in 2018 in each location King visited. King visited First Baptist Church on June 26, 1962.
The conversation at First Baptist Church will be the fourth in the series, following events in Richmond, Charlottesville and Farmville.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission of the Virginia General Assembly was founded in 1992 to honor King’s legacy and memory, continue his work and teach communities about his life.
