The Southwest Louisiana Martin Luther King Jr. Festival is returning after last year’s pandemic.

Setbacks have prepared MLK festival organizers for a comeback. Last year’s MLK festival was postponed due to COVID-19 and organizers are excited about the return. The MLK Festival honors the courageous effort  and sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The festival kicks off  Saturday, Jan. 15, with the annual Memorial Brunch. Events  are planned through Monday, Jan. 17. This year’s theme is: “The road to freedom is a difficult road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.”

“We’ve had a lot of setbacks,” said event organizer Roxie Smith, “but in spite of those setbacks, we have continued to move forward. Through the hurricanes, through the ice storm, through the flooding we are pushing forward for progress and we’re not going to stop.”

The festivities will start with the annual Memorial Brunch, held at Washington-Marion High School Gym, 2702 Pineview St., at 10:30 a.m. The brunch honors several  deserving, outstanding individuals in the community. There will be guest speakers,  music, and community heroes will be presented with the “M.L.K. Unsung Hero Award.”

This year’s Faye Brown Blackwell Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Dr. Percival Kane who retired from practicing medicine at the end  of 2021.

The late Faye Blackwell knew a little something about setbacks. In the ’80s, she envisioned the R&B radio station, KZWA. Although finding funding was a daunting task, she never gave up on her idea of connecting and sharing information in the community she loved. Blackwell also served on the school board and was one of the first Blacks to serve on the Lake Charles City Council.

If she had a mantra, it would have been “get informed and be involved,” according to Smith, Blackwell’s sister.

On Sunday, events continue, when performers from all over Louisiana will come  together for the Gospel Extravaganza held at the Throne of Grace Fellowship located at 2401 6th St. in Lake Charles at 6 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

On Monday, the 38th annual MLK Parade will roll through the streets of Lake  Charles at 11 a.m., with the line-up beginning at the Lake Charles Civic Center at 8:30 a.m. The parade will begin on Broad  Street, go to Enterprise Blvd. then to Mill St., back to Lakeshore Drive and the Civic Center. This year’s parade marshal is Ward 3 Marshal Nate Keller. Register at Eventbrite search: 38th Annual MLK  Parade. Tickets are available at Eventbrite search: 38th Annual MLK Brunch online.

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For more information contact Cary A. Chavis at carychavisagencypr@gmail.com.