One Man's Tribute to MLK

A gunshot is heard, followed by rapid footsteps and frantic yelling. It is April 4, 1968, and the hero of the civil rights movement is lying on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis.

“Ain’t Got Long to Stay Here” dramatizes one of America’s most violent and inspiring times and the man who mobilized a generation of people and changed the world.

Actor, writer, and historian Barry Scott mesmerizes audiences with his one-man play, a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

He’ll perform the show at the Townsend Center for Performing Arts on Thursday, Feb. 9. Tickets are $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and military, and $8 for children.

Visit or call the Townsend Center Box Office at 678-839-4722 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or one hour before show time. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.townsendcenter.org.

A rich soundtrack of piano and strings, which swells and then falls into the background, synchronized to the dynamics of Scott’s performance. The play runs about 75 minutes in a single act with no intermission. Scott has various costumes to accompany his portrayals of preachers, civil rights workers, Alabama cops, Klansmen, and others of the era. Rear-screen projections display well-known archival images of King, the movement, the marches for equality, the police brutality and some of those who died for the cause including the four young black girls who perished in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. Scott delivers excerpts of King’s eulogy on the “democracy of death” over these pictures culminating this thoroughly haunting segment.

More than anything, Scott asks his audience to listen and observe, to reflect on what’s historical. He asks the audience to honestly feel, to search—deeply within —and discover what it means to them in the here and now.

Former Judge to Speak at MLK Event

UWG’s Office of Institutional Diversity hosts the 3rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom.

This event is free and open to the public.

The honorable Judge Penny Brown Reynolds will be the speaker. The theme is “There's Still Work to Do: Seize the Day.” Reynolds is former prosecutor and assistant attorney general, who presided over the syndicated television show, "Family Court with Judge Penny." She earned her bachelor’s of science from Georgia State University. She earned her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law and a master's degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center.

Reynolds is the author and co-editor of “Women and the Law: A Guide to Women's Legal Rights in Georgia.”

Currently, she spends time lecturing across the country at colleges and universities, conferences and conventions. She also assists corporations with diversity issues and crisis management.

For more information call 678-839-5400 or visit the website at http://www.westga.edu/diversity.