EVMS to host 22nd Annual
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration
January 15, 2008
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Dr. Melvin O. Marriner |
NORFOLK, VA — Eastern Virginia Medical School will host a program honoring
civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr. at 6 p.m. Jan. 21.
The 22nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Program will be held in the
McCombs Auditorium in EVMS’ Lewis Hall. Dr. Melvin O. Marriner, senior
pastor of Portsmouth’s Grove Baptist Church, will deliver the keynote
address honoring King’s memory, and acclaimed baritone Gregory Gardner
is the lead performer. The event, which is sponsored by the EVMS Office
of Minority Affairs, is free and open to the public.
Dr. Marriner has served as senior pastor of Grove Baptist Church in
Portsmouth since 1989. In that time, the Chesapeake native has led Grove
Baptist’s rise from a small, community church to a congregation
numbering more than 5,000. Today, the church houses more than 40
ministries under its Visions of Truth Ministries umbrella, and the Dr. M.O. Marriner Christian Academy: Early Learning and Education Center
opened six years ago. His work has earned wide recognition, including a
2006 L.D. Britt, M.D. Community Service Award.
Gardner, the child of a musically inclined Norfolk family, has been
singing most of his life. His voice has carried him around the world,
including to New York City’s Carnegie Hall where he performed in 1998
with The New York Pops. He recently joined the voice faculties at
Norfolk State University and Hampton University.
The Mt. Lebanon Christian Academy Praise Dancers also will perform, and
EVMS students will lead a candle lighting and unity procession. A
reception in the Brickell Memorial Library atrium will follow the
program.
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