Author: Ernie Suggs

The Atlanta church on historic Auburn Avenue where MLK Jr. preached, Ebenezer Baptist Church, marked its 135th anniversary Sunday with a sitting US Senator, Pastor Raphael Warnock, and the Rev. William J. Barber II, who helps run the Poor People’s Campaign, presiding together in a virtual ceremony

Since the nation last celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, it’s been “a year of extremes” that underscores the urgent need of creating the “Beloved Community” that the civil rights leader envisioned, his daughter said Monday. That theme — building a just society with equal opportunity — is the focus of the upcoming remembrance, which marks what would have been King’s 92nd birthday. Looming over this year’s events are the tense and contested presidential election and last week’s attacks on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., where five people were killed. This year’s commemoration will be quite different from past years — events will be held virtually. The coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted almost every aspect of life in 2020, continues to rage.