FOLEY AND FAIRHOPE — Residents across Baldwin County gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. over the weekend during the county's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.

Events began in Fairhope on Sunday, Jan. 18, with a memorial program held at Fairhope United Methodist Church, which featured a keynote speech from Pamela W. Baschab, former judge of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

Baschab spoke about her career as well as her role in exonerating Walter McMillian, a Black man wrongfully convicted in the murder of Ronda Morrison, a white dry cleaning clerk, in Monroeville and was placed on death row. Baschab was the judge who granted the motion to dismiss all charges against McMillian in 1993.

The case was depicted in the 2014 memoir "Just Mercy," written by McMillian's lawyer, Bryan Stevenson. The book was adapted into a film of the same name in 2019 starring Michael B. Jordan as Stevenson and Jamie Foxx as McMillian.

The next day, the holiday continued in Foley with the annual MLK Memorial March. More than 100 participants, including local residents, members of the Baldwin County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee and elected officials such as Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich, gathered at Beulah Heights Park and walked over a mile northwest to the Foley Civic Center, where a program was held.

The keynote speaker for Monday was attorney Fred Gray Jr., the son of civil rights attorney Fred Gray Sr., whose clients included King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
The theme for this year's programming was "Strengthen our Communities," which comes from Hebrews 10:24-25 in the Bible, which "urges us to look beyond ourselves and to actively encourage one another toward love, service, and good works."

"It is not just a slogan. It is a charge," said Linda Smith of the Baldwin County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee. "It reminds us that Dr. King was rooted not only in hope, but in action. Not only in faith, but in courage. Community is strengthened when ordinary people commit themselves to doing what is right, even if it is difficult."

BAY MINETTE MAYOR JOSHUA BROWN AWARDED CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

During the celebrations in Foley, Bay Minette Mayor Joshua Brown was awarded Citizen of the Year by the Baldwin County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee on Monday.

Brown, who was elected to office last fall, made history by becoming the first Black mayor in Bay Minette.

"I'm very appreciative that Baldwin County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee selected me for Citizen of the Year this year," Brown said. "It was a wonderful event with so many representatives and business professionals and community members coming out."