USC Aiken and Aiken Tech hosted the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 21 at the USCA Convocation Center.
WRDW news anchor Zayna Haliburton acted as the event emcee, and Alex English, a retired NBA player, served as the keynote speaker.
“We believe that each of us in our unique capacities has the power to affect positive change and inspire others to do the same as Dr. King did,” Dr. Daniel Heimmermann, Chancellor of USC Aiken said.
The USCA Chamber Choir and the Second Baptist Church Choir performed at the event. Awards for MLK poster and essay contest were presented to the K-12 winners. For the full list of winners, go to https://www.usca.edu/stories/contest-winners-to-be-recognized-during-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-community-celebration-1.
English was born and raised in Columbia, S.C., and played basketball at Dreher High School. He played at the University of South Carolina and currently holds the record as South Carolina’s No. 2 all-time scorer. English was later drafted into the NBA by the Milwaukee Bucks. However, most of his career was spent playing for the Denver Nuggets.
“One of the reasons you saw many professional athletes in football, basketball, and at one-time baseball, is because we took that motto to heart ‘Be the best you can be,’” English said.
In English’s speech, he emphasized that racism and discrimination did not stop people of color from pursuing and succeeding in various career fields.
“Our elders taught us that if you wanted a job, you had to be exceptional,” English said. “Sometimes being exceptional might not work, but be prepared, no matter what the job is. This is why there are so many great African Americans in all areas of society.”
