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Committee for King’s annual Sunday Commemorative Service at the Tupelo Civic Auditorium will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 14, 2024 with area drill teams accompanied by the MLK Youth Choir, Betty Beene, Director. Mayor Todd Jordan will share the City of Tupelo’s work to address the needs of area children and youth, in connection with the weekend theme of “How Are The Children?”. Members of the Committee for King Youth Advisory Committee will participate in the program. Keynote speaker Oleta Fitzgerald, the Southern Regional Director of the Children’s Defense Fund, will offer her broad view of the issues facing Mississippi’s children today, and strategies to address those issues. At the end of the program, the community is invited to break bread together in the Tupelo Middle School cafeteria, next door to the Civic Auditorium. Representatives from CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates), Catch Kids, Early Childhood Coalition, Faith Haven, and the Tupelo Junior Auxiliary will offer information on their work at the “Shine A Light” tables in the cafeteria. Area businesses kindly donate delicious food and drinks for all to enjoy. The program and reception are free and open to the public.
For everyone's safety, we utilized a CLEAR BAG POLICY.
We hope everyone follows this policy and together we can make this event entertaining, joyous, uplifting, and safe.
2025 MLK WEEKEND SUNDAY DAY OF SERVICE INFORMATION
Committee for King’s 2025 MLK Weekend theme is “The Dream, It Starts with Me”. We encourage every individual to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and consider ways to share your own dream for a better world by actively reaching out in service. We have a few ideas to share, but encourage your own DIY Day of Service. Read to a young child, visit a nursing home, take cookies and a thank you note to the clerk at a 24-hour pharmacy or gas station, help at a local food pantry, the possibilities are limitless. And one more thing: when you do this over MLK Weekend, take a quick selfie and post it with the #TheDreamItStartswithMe and we will re-post it to share with the community the many ways folks are reaching out a helping hand in honor of Dr. King!
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On Sunday, January 19, 2025, Committee for King plans a day of service, healthy living, and fellowship to honor and extend the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The community is invited to the Good Samaritan Free Clinic, 420 Magazine Street, from 2-4 p.m. for a free Health Fair, with flu and Covid shots, diabetes screenings, blood pressure checks, free give aways, etc. At 3:45 p.m., there will be a community march from the clinic to the Salvation Army, 527 Carnation Street, for a community reception from 4-5:30 p.m. Generous local businesses are donating delicious food and drink for all to enjoy.
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In addition to these gatherings, Committee for King is partnering with Keep Tupelo Beautiful and Wear It Well to offer community members a chance to actively support our 2025 theme “The Dream, It Starts with Me”.
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The ParkHill Neighborhood Clean Up volunteers will meet at Carver Elementary School, 910 N. Green St., between 2:00-3:00 p.m. to receive litter pick up supplies. Groups will tackle various streets and hotspots. All ages are welcome, wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Call 901-871-3353 for more information. Be sure to get one of the Committee for King “#TheDreamItStartswithMe” stickers, and take/post your selfie.
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Wear It Well Director Katina Davis (662-350-3475) has administrative and organizational needs at 311 Government Street from 2-3 p.m. Wear It Well can use help at other times as well, not restricted to that day only. Theme stickers available onsite.
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We can all keep Dr. King’s dream alive by living out our own dream of making our world healthier, safer, cleaner, and more loving. Join us!
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#TheDreamItStartswithMe #The DreamItStartswithMe #TheDreamItStartswithMe
MAYOR TODD JORDAN
Mayor Todd Jordan is a lifelong resident of Tupelo. He is a graduate of Tupelo High School and Mississippi State University, where he was a four-year football letter winner for the Bulldogs. He went on to play professional football for the San Antonio Texans of the Canadian Football League.
Mayor Jordan began his political career in January 2019 as a Lee County Supervisor for District 3. He was elected as Tupelo’s 29th mayor in June 2021.
He and his wife Christy have been married since 2003. She has served the Tupelo Public School District for more than 25 years as a teacher and administrator.
Mayor Jordan is looking forward to working for the citizens of Tupelo in raising the five-time All-America City to new heights.
CITY OF TUPELO
OLETA FITZGERALD
CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND
Oleta Garrett Fitzgerald has devoted her life to the pursuit of justice and equality for all. As Director of the Children's Defense Fund's Southern Regional Office, Oleta has placed special emphasis on education, including early childhood education, children’s healthcare access, and breaking the insidious cradle to prison pipeline pattern, which is all too prevalent in communities of color. Oleta is the Regional Administrator for the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative for Economic & Social Justice (SRBWI). SRBWI operates in 77 counties across the Black Belts of Alabama, Southwest Georgia and the Mississippi Delta. She is also the principal for an innovative project, the Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK) Initiative, which has operated in more than 12 Mississippi school districts. Oleta’s distinguished public service career began long before she assumed her position at Children’s Defense Fund. In 1993, Oleta became President Clinton’s appointee as White House Liaison and Executive Assistant to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. Later, she was named the Department’s
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where, among other things, she worked on tribal governmental issues and coordinated the Administration’s long-term recovery of Midwestern states affected by The Great Flood of 1993.
Ms. Fitzgerald serves on the boards of the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative; Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative For Economic and Social Justice, and NEA Foundation; advisory boards for the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center at Alcorn State University, Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, Excel by 5, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Rural Assembly, and is a member of the International Women’s Forum.
Ms. Fitzgerald received the Bachelor of Science degree from Tougaloo College, Master of Arts in Rural Development from Antioch University Midwest with additional studies at the University of California at Davis; and honorary membership to Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honor Society for Public Affairs & Administration from Mississippi State University. She contributed to the Covenant with Black America introduced by Tavis Smiley, and numerous news stories by the New York Times, Huffington Post, the BBC, The Guardian, National Public Radio, Commercial Appeal and NBC National and local affiliates as well as other broadcast and print media.
Ms. Fitzgerald is the proud mother of four children, Rashida, Yusef, Layla and Joi.
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