MLK

USCA and Aiken Technical College present
The MLK Community Celebration
February 8, 2026
USCA Convocation Center

2:30 p.m. - Community Resource Fair

3:00 p.m. - Celebration Begins

Speaker: Cecil J. Williams, Photographer, Author, Inventor, and Activist

Theme: “Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.” – Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

Each year the University of South Carolina Aiken and Aiken Technical College team up to commemorate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The tenets of Dr. King’s work continue to be a part of the foundation of the values and mission of both institutions. Dr. King was a leader in his community, our nation and world as he championed the Civil Rights movement and became the face of the movement, even after his untimely murder in 1968. Fighting for the rights of every citizen in our nation found us achieving the passing of the greatest piece of civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This piece of federal legislation gave all American citizens protections from being discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. As a collective, we recognize how monumental his contributions have been to society, locally and nationally.

USCA and Aiken Tech have been facilitating programs and events, individually, to commemorate Dr. King’s contributions for decades. However, the two came together in 2014 to start a new tradition that created a celebration for the entire Aiken County community.