RECOGNITION — West Virginia officially celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with celebrations around Charleston. Patricia Wilson, chair of the state’s Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission, welcomes guests to the West Virginia Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration and Celebration Awards Luncheon at the state’s Culture Center on Monday afternoon.
SMALL SPEAKER, BIG MESSAGE — Two members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority adjust the podium and microphone for Skylar Koontz, a fifth-grade student at Woodsdale Middle School in Wheeling, who won the YWCA Annual “Project on Racism.” Koontz was one of three students — along with third grader Ethan Thomas of New River Elementary School in Fayette County and senior Nada Siva of Parkersburg High School in Wood County — who read their essays on racism at the awards luncheon. The Beta Beta Omega Chapter of AKA Sorority assisted with hosting the event.
PAYING TRIBUTE — West Virginia officially celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 20 with celebrations around Charleston. Prior to the bell-ringing ceremony at the state Capitol complex’s north portico Monday afternoon, scheduled speakers, from left, U.S. Rep. Shelly Moore Capitol, R-W.Va., U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod J. Kaufman and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin listened as the Appalachian Children’s Chorus performed the National Anthem.