By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Marches on both sides of the Mississippi River and across three parishes highlight special events in the River Region to commemorate the birthday of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King.

Events in St. John the Baptist Parish begin Sunday with a special 11 a.m. Mass in King’s honor at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church hosted by the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary. The Sunday service will include guest speaker Parish President Natalie Robottom.

On Monday in St. John, a pair of civic groups will hold pilgrimage marches and programs in Edgard and LaPlace.

Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church’s Victory Beyond the Wall Ministry and New Pilgrim Baptist Church will sponsor a march and rally with the theme “Recapturing the Spirit of the King and planning for the future.”

The march will line up at East St. John Elementary School, 400 Ory Drive, LaPlace, at 8 a.m. The walk begins at 9 a.m. and proceeds up Airline Highway to the Percy Hebert Building, where the rally will take place.

The keynote speaker for the rally will be retired Grambling State University mathematics professor Dr. Lawrence Woodward.

For more information on the event, check the church’s website, Bethlehembconline.net.

In Edgard, the West St. John Civic Association will conduct a march and memorial program starting at noon at the Roland Borne Sr. Memorial Library, 2979 Louisiana Highway 18.

The march will proceed east on Louisiana 18 and wind up at the West Bank Community Center, 173 E. Third St. A memorial program on the community center’s lawn will begin at 1 p.m. Senior citizens from the Edgard community age 90 and older will be honored during the program.

In St. Charles Parish, the Martin Luther King Commemorative organization will hold its annual celebration in Luling and Hahnville.

A pilgrimage march will begin at 10 a.m. at the foot of the Hale Boggs Bridge in Luling and wind up at the Eual J. Landry Gym on River Road in Hahnville, where a rally will begin at noon. Merlyna Adams, principal of St. Rose Elementary School, will speak.

Meanwhile in St. James Parish, St. James High School on the west bank will hold a Martin Luther King Day program at the school auditorium, 5181 Wildcat St., starting at noon.