Mutter Evans Organizes 31st Annual MLK, Jr. Day

Mutter Evans

Former WAAA radio station owner Mutter Evans initiated Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorations five years before the federal holiday was passed.  The 26th edition of the federal holiday honoring him included the 31st Annual Noon-Hour Commemoration in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is one of the oldest Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial events in the United States. 

Ms Evans noted:

"Take the time to acknowledge the person who had been so instrumental, and the freedoms and the liberties which we have acquired," said Mutter Evans, who organized the event in 1979. It makes me feel good from the standpoint that people continue to acknowledge and appreciate the history.  It just seems like there is more division. Not everybody voted for him [Barack Obama], but those strives we thought we'd overcome, continue to rear their heads"

The event was originally held on King's birthday, but is now held at the Benton Convention Center on the federal holiday, which began in 1986. Winston-Salem native Clifton Graves spoke at this year's event. Graves, known nationally for his work in civil rights and education, spoke about everyone's power to help themselves and others.

(Fox 8, Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, 1/17/2010)