VP Harris to speak, thousands expected to attend “King Day at the Dome”

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Martin Luther King Jr. Day is held on the third Monday of every January — with the holiday falling on Dr. King’s actual birthday this year.

An event known as King Day at the Dome began in 2000 to honor Dr. King’s legacy, and as an effort to remove the Confederate Flag from the State House.

But it wasn’t until 2015 that the flag was removed from the grounds by then Governor Nikki Haley, following the massacre at Mother Emanuel AMEC Church.

“It is a time when we reflect, it is a time when we appreciate what Dr. King has done, and then it is also a time to talk about the unfinished business that has to be done from the civil rights standpoint,” says NAACP Historian, Dr. Jim Felder.

Thousands are expected to attend the event which will begin with a service at Zion Baptist Church in downtown Columbia, followed by a march to the State House for a 10 a.m. rally featuring an address from Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We’re the first state in the nation with a primary, and Joe Biden got elected because he won that primary four years ago, here in South Carolina. So we are on a hot track for many politicians, and they all keep coming through here because of what we have done. But we can do better. If we turn out more voters, we will then impress candidates, whether they be black or white, that they have to deal with issues we are concerned about,” says Felder.

If Dr. King were alive today, Felder believes King’s biggest concern would be that more citizens aren’t utilizing their right to vote.

“I am challenging every voter, particularity every Black voter to participate in every election. Be it city council, school board, Senate, House member, US Senate… but we’ve got to vote every chance we get, every opportunity, and that’s what Dr. King expected that we would do, now that we have the vote,”says Felder.

ABC Columbia News will provide coverage of King Day at the Dome as well as other events honoring Dr. King.