Pickens Mayor Isaiah Scipio, pictured right, addresses the audience at the 18th Annual Unity Prayer Breakfast in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The event was jointly organized by the Griffin Ebenezer Baptist Church, Pickens Presbyterian Church, and various other community congregations. This year marks the 41st Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which celebrates the life and legacy of the acclaimed Civil Rights activist.

King’s legacy as a Civil Rights advocate began in 1955 when he led a boycott of Montgomery’s segregated city bus lines.

In addition to organizing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957 and the anti-segregation protest he led in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963, King is best known for his August 1963 March on Washington, during which he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

In the same year, King and the SCLC joined the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.                                                                                                                  Photo courtesy City of Pickens