Of course, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, to roll at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, through downtown Statesboro, promises to be a highlight.

But the 2024 National Holiday Observance planned by the Bulloch County NAACP also features a program of speeches and gospel music at Elm Street Church of God after the parade, and before either of those, a Saturday, Jan. 13 youth-led prayer breakfast, 8:30-11 a.m. at the Williams Center on the Georgia Southern campus.

This year’s overarching theme for the MLK observance is “Thrive: In Movement. In Culture. In Community.” Builders of floats vying for the first-, second- and third-place “Best Overall” trophies have been asked to design with this theme in mind. Parade judges are expected to score the floats by awarding one to five points in each of four categories: originality of design, theme incorporation, special effects (crowd engagement and music) and overall entry appeal.

"We've had a great response from the community and surrounding communities as well,” said Sophia Harris-Johnson, secretary of the Bulloch County Branch of the NAACP. “We're looking forward to a great parade with floats, bands, cars, trucks, businesses, walking units, Greek organizations and other social and civic organizations."

As of Friday, Jan. 5, parade organizers were still accepting entries of all allowed types, but the deadline for entries is Monday, Jan. 8. Entry forms are available at Hills Mortuary and Craig R. Tremble Funeral Home and online at https://sites.google.com/view/mlknationalholidayobservance/ . If not already mailed in, the forms can be delivered in-person Jan. 8 from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Business Innovation Group (BIG) headquarters, 58 East Main St., Statesboro.

The fee for floats and other entries is $30 (except there’s no charge for colleges and schools’ student organizations and their bands).

Parade route

Watching is also free.

The route begins with the lineup on East Olliff Street at North Main Street and continues southward on North Main, passing the courthouse and turning right onto West Main Street and then right again onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to end at Luetta Moore Park.

Check-in and line-up time for parade entrants begins at 11:30 a.m., with all entries to be in place by 1 p.m.

2024 grand marshal

This year’s parade grand marshal is Lashai Campbell, who among other roles and achievements is co-founder and executive director of Restoring the Breach Inc., a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Statesboro. Restoring the Breach provides educational, wellness and outreach programming for local residents, youth and college students.

The MLK Parade Committee, in a statement provided by Harris-Johnson, states:

"We extended this honor to Mrs. Campbell as a token of our appreciation for the work she's done and continues to do in her service to the residents, youth, adults and college students through the organization Restoring the Breach. We recognize that her service goes above and beyond, and it is because of that that we bestowed the honor to her. She is a true example of this year's theme. "

Observance Day program

Awards from the float contest will be presented during the community program, to be held immediately after the parade at Elm Street Church of God, 28 Elm Street, where Elder Alexander Smith Jr. is pastor. The service often starts around 3 p.m., or as soon as people make their way over after the parade and fill the church pews.

“We are so grateful for Reverend Smith and his congregation for hosting the Observance Day Program at the church each year,” wrote Harris-Johnson.

This year's keynote speaker will be Thomas James, youth chair for the Screven County NAACP.

The Bulloch County NAACP’s service project for this year’s celebration is collecting long-shelf-life food items to be donated to Statesboro Food Bank. These items will be collected before and after the Observance Day Program.

Saturday Prayer Breakfast

Neither the service work nor celebratory events associated with the MLK observance wait until the Monday holiday to begin. School-age members of the Bulloch County NAACP Youth Council are working with adult volunteers to host the Saturday, Jan. 13, prayer breakfast, co-sponsored also by the NAACP Georgia Southern University Chapter.

Tickets for the 8:30 a.m.-11 a.m. event to be held at the Williams Center on Georgia Southern’s Statesboro campus go for $25 per person.

Proceeds above event costs go to support the NAACP Bulloch County Youth Council and its activities, explained Adrianne McCollar. She and Renata Newbill-Jallow are the Youth Council’s adult advisors.

“This prayer breakfast is definitely our annual community event for the NAACP Youth Council to honor Dr. King and remember his legacy,” McCollar said. “But it’s also their main fundraiser for the year, and the funds raised help them to attend statewide conferences, college tours, museums and that sort of thing.”

She reports that the NAACP Bulloch Youth Council currently has 25 active members from the local community, while the Georgia Southern Chapter has 85 members on the GS campuses.

Blake Robinson, the university’s Student Government Association president, is scheduled to give the keynote remarks at the breakfast, which also features music by local talent and, of course, prayers.