Dr. Leslie Hutchins, Speaker MLK Jr. BanquetLeslie Hutchins, MD, is a 2000 graduate of Cooper High School and a 2004 Abilene Christian University graduate. She earned her medical degree at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She completed both a general surgery internship and an internship in neurological surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, where
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By LORETTA FULTON Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be observed nationally and locally on Monday, Jan. 15, in a variety of ways. Locally, the day will kick off with a breakfast at Hardin-Simmons University, followed by a march across the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge in east Abilene, and concluding with a dinner at the Abilene Convention Center. In
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By LORETTA FULTON Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech blasted through the parking lot of the Woodson Center for Excellence Monday afternoon, setting the tone for the ceremony and march that lay ahead in honor of the slain Civil Rights leader. Monday, Jan. 16, was the official holiday honoring King, who was born Jan. 15, 1929,
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By LORETTA FULTON Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be observed in various ways Monday, with meals, a march, and a day of service on tap. The day will kick off with a breakfast at Hardin-Simmons University, followed by a march across the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge in east Abilene, and concluding with a dinner at the Abilene Convention
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By LORETTA FULTON Unity–a major tenet of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message and legacy–was evident Monday as Abilenians gathered to honor the slain Civil Rights leader and pastor. Monday, Jan. 17, was the official holiday honoring King, who was born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. In the afternoon, people
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“Let Us Walk Together” is the theme for the annual local event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A march across the MLK Memorial Bridge is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, when participants will gather in the parking of the Woodson Center for Excellence, 3424 Cockerell Drive. Plans have not been announced about speakers for the
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By LORETTA FULTON Opening a speech with the “N” word normally wouldn’t be advisable for the featured speaker at a Martin Luther King. Jr. Day gathering. But the Rev. Matthew Lubin, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, did just that and followed the slur with racial epithets that covered just about all of humanity. As a preacher, Lubin knows the importance
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A vehicle parade will substitute for the traditional foot parade Monday, Jan. 18, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “Divided We Fall, United We Stand” is the theme of the annual parade, sponsored by Let Us Breathe. The parade normally involves people walking across the MLK Jr. bridge in east Abilene. This year, due to the ongoing COVID-19
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By LORETTA FULTON The organizer of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march wore a white T shirt with an image of the slain Civil Rights leader and one of his memorable comments. The shirt reminded everyone that King not only was the face of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s, he also was a pastor.
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Spirit Of Abilene 