Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award Honorees and His Dream by Voting - Carl Snowden

Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award honorees and his dream by voting. Keynote speaker is Congressman Jonathan Jackson.

The 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner is coming up, and it's a big deal. It's the largest celebration of King's birthday in Anne Arundel County and is sponsored by the nonprofit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee Inc. The event will be held at the Live! Casino at Arundel Mills in Hanover and starts at 6 p.m.

In the past, proceeds from this event have been used to build the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at Anne Arundel Community College, the Coretta Scott King Memorial Garden in Edgewater, and the Civil Rights Foot Soldiers Memorial across from the Arundel Center. The event also contributed to the naming of a county building in honor of the late Councilwoman Sarah E. Carter, who was the first and only African American woman elected to the Anne Arundel County Council.

This gala is a partnership with St. John's College, The Key School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, NAACP, and the Caucus of African American Leaders. It attracts patrons from all over the state, and this year's keynote speaker will be Congressman Jonathan Jackson, son of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.

Elected officials invited to attend include Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Sen Chris Van Hollen Jr., retiring Rep. John Sarbanes, Rep. David Trone, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, County Executive Steuart Pittman, Mayor Gavin Buckley, Councilwoman Lisa Rodvien, Sheriff Everett Sesker, Register of Wills Erica Griswold, Delegate Shaneka Henson, Judge Vickie Gipson, and Judge Ginina Jackson-Stevenson, among others.

This event is happening right at the start of the 2024 election cycle, and candidates running for the Board of Education and Congress will be on the ballot. This election is a big deal and will be the most consequential in our lifetime. It's a referendum on the direction the nation will take, and voters will have to make important decisions.

In the words of King, "the greatest march that you can participate in is the march to the ballot box." This year's honorees include Gov. Wes Moore, Annapolis Recreation and Parks Director Roslyn Johnson, Board of Education member Dana Schallheim, Dee Goodwyn, Joseph Butler, Jared S. Littmann, Thornell Jones, Harris Family Foundation, The Ralph Bunche Community Center, Midshipman First Class Max Josef Bueno, Rev, Marguerite Morris, Dr. Cederic Harris, Dr. April Copes, Antonio Downing, and Midshipman First Class Kaylah Gillums.

As we celebrate King's dream, let's also remember to keep hope alive and our democracy intact by voting.

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