Local residents will be celebrating the dreams andaccomplishments in the life of a well-known African American on theeve of the national holiday named in his honor.

Lincoln County’s 2002 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration,presented by the Mu Pi Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi AlphaFraternity, will be held at Alexander Junior High School Auditorium5 p.m., Sunday.

“We pride ourselves on presenting this every year due to thefact that he was one of our fraternity brothers,” said DexterHolloway of the Mu Pi Lambda chapter. “We just want to remember aman, who’s basically a hero, and his dream.”

Guest speaker for the third annual event will be the Rev. LarryJointer, pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church inBrookhaven.

Jointer, one of the 15 children of the Rev. and Mrs. BurgessJointer, is a graduate of Copiah-Lincoln High School. Jointerattended Sawyer Business College in Los Angeles and A.P. ClayChristian Theological College, where he earned a Bachelor andMaster of Theology degree.

He is the moderator for the Brookhaven Educational Home MissionBaptist Association, the executive secretary for the SouthMississippi Baptist State Convention and the recording secretaryfor the Minister’s Conference of the National Baptist Convention ofAmerica, Inc., where he is a member of the Evangelical Board.

His wife is the former Doris Winston and they have fourchildren: Michael, Adrian, Darnay and Jessica.

Musical entertainment will be provided by the St. James choirthroughout the program.

This year’s celebration will also highlight a new accomplishmentfor the late King Jr.

“We’re proud of the fact that after two decades of planning andrelentless rounds of lobbying, the fraternity and supporters of aMartin Luther King, Jr. Memorial finally got what they wanted, asite at the heart of the nation’s capital,” Holloway pointedout.

Holloway said the memorial, which will be located near LincolnMemorial, will be the first in Washington for an African-Americanand the second for a non-president.

In trying to keep King’s dreams of a nation coming together,fraternity members plan to promote community service during theprogram.

“We’re trying to build up to people that they need to give backto their community and find a project to work on, and make it(King’s national holiday) a day on instead of a day off,” saidHolloway. “We’re hoping this is the start of something that’s goingto continue throughout the year.”

Following the celebration, the ladies of Alpha Kappa AlphaSorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Zeta Phi BetaSorority, Inc., are hosting a reception in the auditorium’slobby.